Douglas Berger

Douglas Berger
Location
Columbus, Ohio, USA
Birthday
January 14
Bio
Living in the Midwest watching TV and noodling on the computer. This is also a narcissistic attempt to create a cult following to hide my lack of talent and intelligence about a wide range of topics.

created image showing The Wall Between Church and StateSome Christians and right wingers cry and whine about their freedom of religion being suppressed when their Christian privilege is called out or shut down. But time and again, when the roles are reversed, those same Christians see no problem in suppressing points of view that contradict their… Read full post »

photo of Rebecca Romijn & Jon Tenney: stars of TNT show King & Maxwell
Rebecca Romijn & Jon Tenney: stars of TNT show King & Maxwell

The latest addition to the summer TV schedule comes from cable channel TNT. King & Maxwell is a buddy private eye procedural starring Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn. The show was created by Shane Brennan who also created… Read full post »

official photo of Ohio Representative Bill Patmon (D-10)
Ohio Representative Bill Patmon (D-10) wants to give credit for religious study during school time

Ohio House Bill 171, introduced by Representative Bill Patmon (D-10), would allow students to receive credit for studying religion during what is called release time. If passed, Ohio would be the… Read full post »

created image of Tony Awards logo with dateSunday June 9th on CBS will be the 67th Tony Awards. The Tonys recognize the best of Broadway for the season. I like the award show because you get a taste of the plays and musicals playing that year. I also like that Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting for the… Read full post »

JUNE 7, 2013 3:00PM

The IRS Also Targeted Camp Quest

the logo for Camp QuestThe recent media dust up about the Internal Revenue Service doing their job when considering group tax exemptions under the 501(c)4 rules focused on conservative groups being ‘targeted’ for political reasons. What hasn’t been reported as much is that non-conservative groups,… Read full post »

Logo for the National Security AgencyThere are actually times when Democrats and Republicans in Congress set aside their partisanship and work together. One is naming post offices and the other allowing the government to subvert our 4th Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. In defending the NSA collecting phone… Read full post »

cartoon showing hypocrisy of those who want unity but exclude MuslimsTwo recent church and state stories once again prove that some Christians in this country only believe religious freedom counts if you’re a Christian. Debate over a Defense Department budget bill in Congress and Hecklers at a Muslim Group’s Event In Tennessee shows there are still… Read full post »

created image with The CW logo and the words Fall TV PreviewA couple of weeks ago I gave a run down of the new TV shows coming in the fall. I noticed I didn’t go over the shows on The CW. The main reason is I rarely watch The CW. I did check out previews of the new shows and I couldn’t… Read full post »

image of American Atheist founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Before Richard Dawkins, Madalyn Murray O’Hair was THE public face of Atheism

As much as I get frustrated about the unnecessary backlash against atheist feminists, it makes me even more upset to see some well meaning opponents of feminism in the movement who fail to learn from history. Tom Fl… Read full post »

Photo of Teddy Wilson & Norm Sousa, Hosts of Never Ever Do This At Home
Teddy Wilson & Norm Sousa, Hosts of ‘Never Ever Do This At Home’

There wasn’t anything on TV the other night so I ended up watching a couple of episodes of the new reality/comedy show ‘Never Ever Do This At Home‘. On first blush it just seemed like a total waste/… Read full post »

JUNE 2, 2013 11:00AM

Let The Indecent Control You

group photo of the band The Indecent
The Indecent

A new band that I’ve been digging lately is The Indecent from New York. They play alternative rock that some critics say sounds like 1990′s grunge. I can’t speak to that but I don’t mind cranking up the volume when I listen to their latest EP ‘Control’.

TheRead full post »

screencap of Bradford County, Florida Ten Commandments Monument
Bradford County, Florida Ten Commandments Monument

Usually American Atheists files a lawsuit to have a religious symbol removed from government property. But in a historical first, the resolution of a 1st Amendment lawsuit will include the erection of a monument celebrating atheism on the lawn… Read full post »

clipart showing a reading circle
How I imagine older Humanists passing on their knowledge to younger Humanists

It has been almost 20 years since I officially chucked religion once and for all and identified as an Atheist and Humanist. Getting rid of the irrational belief system called religion was the most liberating thing th… Read full post »

classroom scene clip artSome religious zealots are so hell bent to force their religion onto public school students that they will try to camouflage the attempt by trying to create a "controversial issues" policy. They include their religious beliefs with other so-called "controversial issues" like gl… Read full post »

sticker with the words I voted todayIt seems like every recent election season there are the stories of Republicans trying to make it as tough as possible to vote. I mean if you can’t win on the issues the best alternative it to prevent as many of people from voting as possible. Did you know the US… Read full post »

MAY 27, 2013 10:00AM

Continuum Is All Kinds Of Gray

screencap of Rachel Nichols as CPS Protector Kiera Cameron on Syfy's Continuum
Rachel Nichols as CPS Protector Kiera Cameron on Syfy’s Continuum

I don’t know how they do it but the Canadians just seem to know how to do Sci-Fi TV shows. I recently started watching ‘Continuum‘, which returns for a 2nd season on the Syfy channel June 7th here in the US,/… Read full post »

DVD cover art for The 400 Blows (1959)
The 400 Blows (1959)

The other night, I had Turner Classic Movie (TCM) channel on. It started to show Francois Truffaut’s "The 400 Blows" (1959). Film buff friends of mine have waxed poetically about all the French New Wave directors like Truffaut and until now I had avoided them all. I… Read full post »

image of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R)

In a press conference Thursday morning, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted gave the results of a request he made to all 88 Ohio counties to investigate allegations of voter fraud and suppression at the polls during the 2012 Presidential election. 625 voti… Read full post »

photo of Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman
Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) supports taking money from public schools

This was a very scary read in the Columbus Dispatch. It seems a bill in the Ohio legislature, if passed, would require the Columbus City School District to share future levy funds with charter schools in the city.… Read full post »

offical image of US Senator Tom Coburn (R-Heartless)
US Senator Tom Coburn (R-Heartless)

A massive tornado flattens a large part of Moore Oklahoma on Monday. Whole neighborhoods and businesses are turned into piles of scrap wood and metal. It is times like these that a government springs into action. Providing aid quickly is one way to keep the… Read full post »

photo of Ron Lindsay President and CEO Center for Inquiry
Ronald A. Lindsay – President & CEO Center for Inquiry

The second Women in Secularism Conference was held in Washington, DC this weekend. The conference is a response to the struggle inside secular groups to reach out and encourage more participation by women. There has been a vocal mino/… Read full post »

created image with the word OutrageWell the Republicans have a real “scandal†to use to make more excuses to avoid doing their own jobs. The IRS apologized for doing their job when a boatload of political groups tried to gain tax exemptions as charities to keep from having to disclose their donors. I get it, no… Read full post »

created image with the words CBS Fall TV PreviewCBS, aka The Tiffany Network, didn’t have much to fix with it’s 2013-2014 TV schedule. It plans on expanding their comedy programing on Thursday nights by moving “Person of Interest†to Tuesday night after the NCIS shows. Like the other networks, CBS seems to have a couple of dramas th… Read full post »

created graphic for ABC Fall TV PreviewI wasn’t that enthused with the many new shows ABC presented at their upfront presentation on Tuesday. Most of them were high concept low sustainability which means they would work as a movie or limited series but I don’t see them getting past the novelty. The only shows that interested me… Read full post »

image of a misty eyed John Boehner
Speaker John Boehner learning a law affects his friends

Just like when the Republicans were upset that the sequester they voted for would actually affect them and so they voted to fix that specific part, when it came out that the Department of Justice used the Patriot Act to secretly obtain… Read full post »