This will end well.

Some people don't understand why I'm more afraid of corporations than governments. Well here's why.

FTA: Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. has introduced a "Smile Scan" system to evaluate the grins of its station staff.
The smile-measuring software has been developed by Kyoto-based precision equipment maker Omron Corp. The device analyzes the facial characteristics of a person, including eye movements, lip curves and wrinkles, and rates a smile on a scale between 0 and 100 percent using a camera and computer.

Honestly, WTF is that? It's a goddamn half step away from thought control is what it is. I don't like the idea of a corporation being able to tell it's employees that they need to appear 15% happier, mostly around the eyes, or they'll be sent home/fired/have their pay docked. It's hard to fathom a more hellish existence than this.

You call it prayer, I call it talking to yourself

“The free exercise clause of the First Amendment protects religious belief, but not necessarily conduct.”

This has been reported in the news since it first happened, and it's happened before, so it's not necessarily surprising, but this just goes to show how dangerous blind faith in religion is. Remember that study years ago that showed that prayer can help heal heart patients? Well, uh, I think this pretty much debunks that. Entirely.

Part of me feels like this could actually be looked at as weeding out all the nutters in some weird moderately ironic form of Darwinism (if they don't get medical care, they'll kill themselves out of existence), but it's hard to even jokingly justify that considering an 11-year-old is dead as a result. I mean, you don't believe in anything but God's power to heal, fine, don't go to a doctor, but don't keep your child from going to the doctor, you crazy fucking religious nutbar.