Search Results for ideology
The Heartland Documents, Doubt is their Product
Posted by Mark on February 16, 2012 Everyone is writing about desmogblog’s leak of internal documents from the Heartland Institute. But to me I think leaked documents are nothing compared to their fully public, out-in-the-open history of being openly contemptuous of science, funding cranks with advanced degrees (though not in climate) to disparage the field, and their hosting of denialpalooza. James rightly…
The Great Labor Department Conspiracy to fake new jobs
Posted by Mark on February 13, 2012 One of the characteristics of defective thinking, particularly of cranks (see theHOWTO) that we’ve discussed on scienceblogs is their poor ability to process information that is contradictory. Last week there were some interesting reports on a study which suggested those who believe in conspiracy theories can hold two seemingly contradictory pieces of information in their…
Are liberals really more likely to accept science than conservatives?
Posted by Mark on January 23, 2012 Today’s NYT has Thomas Edsall’s What the Left Get’s Right, the follow up piece to last week’s What the Right Get’s Right, and what’s fascinating is how even conservative commentators think liberals get science right more often than conservatives. Or at least they are less likely to view it ideologically: A few conservative concessions to…
The Right Wing Appeal of Duesberg’s HIV/AIDS denialism
Posted by Mark on January 9, 2012 Via Ed If you ever wondered what motivated this particular HIV/AIDS denialist this video makes it obvious. Duesberg comes out and blames homosexual promiscuity for AIDS rather than a virus. I think examples like this make it clearer that the ideology responsible for this denialism is plain just plain homophobia after all. This is, of…
The New Scientist Debates Denialism
Posted by Mark on May 24, 2010 Luckily they don’t make the mistake of actually debating denialists. The feature of last weeks issue, “Age of Denial” is a series of articles by skeptics and one laughable rebuttal, discussing the nature of denialism and tactics to use against it. They do quite a good job covering the basics, starting with Deborah MacKenzie and…
Denying AIDS – A book by Seth Kalichman
Posted by Mark on May 26, 2009 Seth Kalichman is a better man than I. Kalichman is a clinical psychologist, editor of the journal Aids and Behavior and director of the Southeast HIV/AIDS Research and Evaluation (SHARE) product, and he has devoted his life to the treatment and prevention of HIV. Despite a clear passion for reducing the harm done by HIV/AIDS,…
Angels and Demons – Feeding our love of conspiracies
Posted by Mark on May 14, 2009 Tomorrow Angels and Demons comes to theaters across the country. One in a long series of movies that profits from the idea that underneath our regular, ordinary world, there are powerful forces controlling the scenes. I understand the appeal of these movies, it’s an entertaining concept. A fictional conspiracy engages your intellect, creates a mystery,…
What should a national health care system look like?
Posted by Mark on May 12, 2009 I was pleased to see president Obama deliver this address yesterday: Click To Play I was even more pleased because he has gathered the traditional opponents of healthcare reform around him and has convinced them to commit to reform in the US system. This is a positive sign. However, I’m concerned because, as with all…
The Teabaggers Are Nuts
Posted by Mark on April 20, 2009 Via Brayton I caught this disturbing video of the new right-wing fringe movement: Now, if you guys have been following along for the last few years of denialism blog, you know you should immediately be suspicious of people alleging conspiracy theories. This one is a doozy. The administration as a culmination of a 5 decade…
Lifting the stem cell ban – was there any point?
Posted by Mark on March 9, 2009 President Obama has lifted the ban on embryonic stem cell research enacted by Bush, but I’m left feeling that this intervention came many years too late. Pledging that his administration will “make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology,” President Obama on Monday lifted the Bush administration’s strict limits on human embryonic stem cell research.…
