Saturday, May 30, 2009

Smackdown done right.

Thunderf00t strikes again.


H/T
Too Many Tribbles

Why do people laugh at creationists? (part 30)

What value the truth?

Every so often my mum sends me an email giving me some kind of scare about health or the Moozlims! or some fucking thing. In return I send her a link to Snopes or Just Fucking Google It. There is a dearth of facts and truthful reflection on both sides of the aisle these days. As you may have notices when checking your blogs or email. (I will say this, in the last several years the right has had a more tenuous grip on the truth)
Everyone who has something to sell or shill is prone to alarmist proclomations and those whose bias it confirms are happy enough to take it as fact.
It behooves all of us to take it easy and figure out what is true and false before we jump all over something. Otherwise we're all going to run ourselves into the ground.

JAMES EVANS: Truth essential element | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser
Recently I received an e-mail message warning me about a dangerous and vile movie called "Corpus Christi." According to the message, this movie portrays Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals. Believers are encouraged to stand together and protest its showing.

Guess what? There is no such movie.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Decriminalization and Public Attitudes

A nice CNN video between a drug warrior and drug realist.
Milk: The Gateway Drug - Boing Boing

It does make you ask the following questions:
  • Have you ever met a drug user who didn't drink alcohol?
  • How many drug users started up by smoking?
  • Why a
re those two gateway drugs illegal?
Awaiting your answers.

Because Conservapedia wasn't well respected enough...

I give you: Tucker Carlson's right-wing HuffPo killer.
"Tell the truth, and be accurate," Carlson said of the venture's goals. "It's very important to live up to the basic standards of journalism."

I wish you luck, Tuck. With a mission statement like that how could you not live up to it?

Monday, May 25, 2009

How to Spot a Hidden Religious Agenda -- The Return

New Humanist reports that New Scientist has reinstated the article it pulled down previously.
Good for them.
BTW, support your local Simon Singh.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Aw, fuck

they've already come after geology and biology, now they're coming after astronomy.
Texas is as fucked as the little guy in the prison shower.
'Texas is only 6000 years old' by Phil Plait - BadAstronomyBlog - RichardDawkins.net


Give them the power and they'll use it.

Mr Magoo could have seen this one coming from the horizon. If you give the police, or anyone if we're honest, the power to stop and search without cause, warrent or reprisals they're going to use it.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Capital sees rise in terror stops
Somebody in London is stopped and searched every three minutes, according to new figures obtained by BBC London.

The Metropolitan Police used section 44 of the Terrorism Act more than 170,000 times in 2008 to stop people in London.

The best parts?
That compares to almost 72,000 anti-terror stop and searches carried out in the previous year.
and
Of all the stops last year, only 65 led to arrests for terror offences, a success rate of just 0.035%.





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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Slate takes on Oprah - or What You Liked the Fucking Polio, Part I've given up counting.

Oprah has jumped into bed with Jenny McCarthy. Let me rephrase that...nasty image. Oprah is now working with Jenny McCarthy to give her a platform to spout off on her anti-vaxx bullshit. It's nice to see someone stand up and call bullshit on that one. Why is Oprah Winfrey promoting vaccine skeptic Jenny McCarthy? - By Arthur Allen - Slate Magazine
Celebrities take on all kinds of causes. They campaign for presidents, and they rally to save the women of Darfur and the hungry masses of Bangladesh and Africa. Some of these appearances may do some good, while others are merely benign grandstanding. But wealthy, toothsome, vivacious, and sexy Jenny McCarthy's impassioned campaign is actually harmful. Why? Because she is spreading dangerous misinformation—and that could bring some once-controlled diseases back into play.
Slate will necessarily lose. It's Oprah, after all. We will all lose with them and with any of the brave who stand up to bullshit. But we'll lose bigger if we don't. Get WidgetThe Body CountJenny McCarthy Body Count

Thursday, May 07, 2009

How low are your standards for honesty?

Watch a guy avoid a question with all his heart and still get some praise for intellectual honesty.


Chris Matthews 'Destroys' GOP Rep. Mike Pence On Evolution/Science Question

HT to Canadian Cynic