Hitchens @ Iowa State University, 31st Oct
Posted on: October 26, 2007 - 12:18pm
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Hitchens @ Iowa State University, 31st Oct
If you're at, or near, Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, you would not want to miss Christopher Hitchens talking about How religion poisons everything. I'll certainly be there. October 31st, 2007, Sun Room, Memorial Union. Come hear him mercilessly shoot down the pathetic christian objections that will no doubt come up during the Q&A 
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oh dude, i can't wait. I will be there with my girlfriend. I'll be the one with a full grown beard and shaggy hair.
I wish I still lived in Ames! Do you have to be a student to attend? I have friends in Des Moines, may have to give them a jingle
Slowly building a blog at ~
http://obsidianwords.wordpress.com/
Yes it is open to anyone to come to not just students. All lectures at ISU are.
Allright, I declare Halloween to be the official Christopher Hitchens day at ISU. My only complaint is that he could have talked for another 10 minutes before the questions. Oh, and the horrible smell of paint in the Sun room. Time for paraphrasing.
Jesus freak: "I've been praying for you"
Hitchens: "Well that has done me as much good as you doing aerobics for me"
Random guy: "Blah blah doing what you accuse religion of blah blah militant atheism blah blah just another religion blah blah what do you say about that?"
Hitchens: "I'm not asking you to take anything I say on faith"
Priceless.
Well that was awesome
Some of my favorite quotes
When he was told he was being prayed for he answered
When asked how responds to the charge that radical atheism is a religion, and might I add the best rebuttal to the charge that radical atheism is a religion
KSMB,
I also found it funny when the Jesus freak gave Hitchins a cup of water and he never drank it.
I also must say he was quite lucid today
I got my , "god is not Great" that I bought at the lecture signed by him.
Hehe, what he should have done when being given that water was to say "well water is actually useful, unlike prayer". And when the Jesus freak said "In the name of Jesus I give you this water" he could have said "Could you ask him to turn it into wine?"
Why do you only think of these things way after the event has passed?!
I am supremely disappointed that there was less of a resistance here at ISU. I think there could have been much more intellectual questions asked of Mr. Hitchens.
For example, that long haired red-shirted kid who incredulously (and humorously) exlaimed about... well, nothing, shouldn't have been given a mic to begin with.
Also, I was hoping tht there would have been some more intellectual political questions instead of people who were asking Hitchens to sometimes re-iterate earlier points. (Or who blatantly misunderstood what Hitchens was saying, such as the 'black & white' guy.)
However, Hitchens was great (as was to be expected).
Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.
George Orwell.
Was it recorded?
I do know someone who did record it , but it was unoffical so i am unsure if i should be sharing it , if and when i get it, with anyone.
Did you guys see in the daily (for non-students thats the university newspaper) there is going to be a opinon colulm called "The folly of atheists" in response to Hitchens lecture? i "can't wait"
Yeah and it's going to be written by Frederikson.
...The guy who is frustrated that he can't get women and that
there are "only" 8 electrical sockets in the big lecture halls so he can't bring his laptop to class uncharged. Boo-hoo.
I've already been wondering whether or not it's going to be worth my time to read it.
Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.
George Orwell.
Indeed, i am unsure if i will be able to read it. I think i will so i can at least post a response on the daily's website
Allright, here we go, if you're interested. As predicted, the not very bright columnist Frederick focuses on points that were explicitly touched upon, and then expanded upon during Q&A. He's accusing Hitchens of doing exactly what he himself is doing, missing the point. The big red point flashing in his face. So typical.
Link1
More interestingly, the Jesus freak present tells us his account. It's exactly the sort of thing you would expect, but it's only marginally worse than Frederick's column.
Link2
First i have to say the subtitle of the first one pissed me off and was idiotic.
The first idiot went over points that HITCHINS TALKED ABOUT! He then comments on a book he hasn't read, about an argument he hasn't actually heard the premises for , just the conclusion(Mother Thersa being a cunt) .
The second tard was please at the lecture when hitchins talked about the totaltariltain aspects of his own fucking religion, to the point that he shouted "AMEN!" to god knowing every one of our thoughts.
Today's Daily was just a load of crap when it came to those to opinons. bah!
Hey they publish the audio for these so here it is
http://realserver.ait.iastate.edu:8080/ITS/Podcasts/Hitchens.mp3