12 bad reasons for rejecting scientific studies
One of the best posts on false skepticism I’ve seen in a very long time. Worth a read.
Category: media
Maher did it again
Bill Maher has been raked over the coals on his irrational, anti-scientific attitude towards vaccines; his own guests have scorned his views on his own show; he’s been confronted repeatedly with the evidence and the rebuttals. He’s got to know by now that there is no rational justification for claiming that vaccines or thimerosal cause autism, or that the drug companies are profiting hugely by including poisons in their vaccines (which makes no sense, even if you do believe in greedy pharmaceutical mega-corporations).
So what does he do? He invites anti-vax crank extraordinaire, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to sit around and commiserate with one another about how they’re called cranks and liars for merely denying the scientific consensus.
Maher wants it both ways. He want to be just an comedian and also a serious public intellectual. The last one to pull that off was Mark Twain and he is no Samuel Clemens.
When The Economist blamed Irish peasants for starving to death
When The Economist blamed Irish peasants for starving to death
its extraordinary blindness to how real life economic power relations work is reminiscent of the magazine’s beginnings in the 19th century, when it fulminated at the very idea that the British government should do anything about the Irish famine that was happening on its doorstep. After all, it was the peasants’ own fault that they were starving.
Laissez faire is often used as an excuse to blame victim.
Robert Reich: Why Anyone Should Care that Bill O’Reilly Calls Me A Communist
Robert Reich: Why Anyone Should Care that Bill O’Reilly Calls Me A Communist
Bill O’Reilly, the tumescent personality of Fox News, said on his Friday show “Robert Reich is a communist who secretly adores Karl Marx.” (This came after Fox News’ Neil Cavoto called me a “sanctimonious twit” for suggesting the rich should pay more in taxes.)
O’Reilly’s accusation is odd, to…
Welcome to the 2011 Salon Hack List
Welcome to the 2011 Salon Hack List
The Salon Hack List is a list of our least favorite political commentators, newspaper columnists, political news show hosts, and constant cable news presences, ranked roughly (but only roughly) in order of awfulness and then described rudely. Criteria for inclusion included being wrong about literally everything, shameless sycophancy, appearing on “Morning Joe” and being “Morning Joe.”
Who are the liberal birthers?
41 percent of Republicans say Obama was definitely or probably born in another country. Why do so many Americans believe such a silly thing? And why are Republicans so much more likely to believe it? From Poll: 41 percent of Republicans think Obama wasn’t born in America – Birthers – Salon.com If the media does… Continue reading Who are the liberal birthers?
The Newsman Of The Millennials
by Chris Bodenner (Hat tip: GOOD) From: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/07/the-newsman-of-the-millennials.html
propaganda pundits
Worth watching. This is clear evidence that this administration was running tax payer funded covert propaganda campaign on US soil in clear violation of US law. Screw impeachment, it’s time for a war crimes tribunal.
re-framing the US Attorney scandal
In a scripted moment of imperial bravado, President Bush held a press conference yesterday to address the scandal over his Attorney General having lied to Congress. Why this sudden move? In a word: framing. FRAMESHOP by Jeffrey Feldman An excellent discussion of how this administration is trying to change the way the US Attorney scandal… Continue reading re-framing the US Attorney scandal
why does CNN grant an open forum to this particular whack-job and not others
When Coulter is invited to spout her putrescence on Larry King Live, the legitimacy granted to her is CNN’s fault, not Coulter’s. After all, there’s no shortage of desperate attention seekers willing to say and do outlandish things to get noticed. The question is, why does CNN grant an open forum to this particular whack-job… Continue reading why does CNN grant an open forum to this particular whack-job and not others