denialism | August 16, 2007Sociologists are. Or so says Inside Higher Ed.
Sociologists -- especially those who study sexuality -- have for years done research that was considered controversial or troublesome by politicians or deans. Many scholars are proud of following their research ideas where they lead -- whatever others may think. But at a session Monday at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, sociologists considered the possibility that some of their colleagues may feel enough heat right now that they are avoiding certain topics or are being forced to compromise on either the language or…
denialism | August 15, 2007It's up on Google video - and embedded here. Enjoy!
H/T Factition and Bad Science.
denialism | August 15, 2007Remember how I said you shouldn't source Wikipedia? Well here's another reason. Fox News likes to edit it.
Ha!
denialism | August 15, 2007No. But the WSJ would like you to believe so.
One libertarian talking point I hear a lot (Cato of course loves this story), and is repeatedly pushed by the WSJ, is that the market and consumers should decide the safety and efficacy of drugs - not dirty gov'mint bureaucrats who want nothing but death and suffering for cancer patients. The latest is this commentary from Ronald Trowbridge and Steven Walker which has some fun with math to suggest the delay in approval of cancer drugs has led not to dozens, or hundreds, or thousands, but hundreds of thousands of premature deaths.
Is there…
denialism | August 15, 2007I couldn't make it a week without talking again about Newstarget, home of Altie-med uber-crank Mike Adams. This time, they caught my eye with a surprising read of this large study of the antioxidant vitamins C and E. Jack Challem, writing for Newstarget, tells us the good, but hidden, news from this study.
When Cook and her colleagues analyzed data from people who consistently took their supplements, they found these specific benefits:
Vitamin E led to a 22 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack.
Vitamin E led to a 27 percent less risk of stroke.
Vitamin E led to a 9 percent lower…
choofnagle | August 13, 2007Our friends from the WSJ recently endowed us with this bit of wisdom:
Unsafe products are a fact of life. The U.S. has created its own share of food- and product-safety scares over the years, from E. coli-tainted spinach to faulty Bridgestone Firestone tires. Even the best inspection regime, whether government or private, will miss serious problems from time to time. But at the end of the day, the private market stands a better chance of protecting consumers than an army of government inspectors ever will.
O RLY? Here's the type of product produced by the private market in China, where the…
denialism | August 13, 2007Via Pandagon we see that at least one administration official knew ahead of time the types of troubles we would encounter trying to occupy Iraq.
choofnagle | August 13, 2007It's a few weeks old, but I just came across this oped in the San Francisco Chronicle by Robert Restuccia and Lydia Vaias. They've painted a big target on the American Medical Association for its role in prescription data mining. It's important to note exactly what AMA is doing here, because, from the oped, it appears that AMA is simply selling lists of doctors that are later enhanced for prescription mining purposes.
Few people recognize the role the AMA plays in making physician information available to companies that use it for pharmaceutical marketing purposes. The AMA sells information…
denialism | August 13, 2007Karl Rove quits.
I wonder what this means? This administration has so little transparency one always feels like interpreting their actions is like trying to read tea leaves. Does this mean they realize Karl Rove's advice isn't pulling Bush out of his terrible approval ratings? Is Rove trying to avoid going down with a sinking ship? Is it to avoid trouble with congressional subpoenas over the AG firings?
denialism | August 13, 2007The Washington Post had a fascinating article over the weekend entitled The Sacrifices of Albania's 'Sworn Virgins'. It turns out that in the rural and mountainous regions of Albania, there developed a custom several hundred years ago by which women could assume all the rights of men, but in return had to sear to never marry, never have children, and dress and act like men for the rest of their lives.
Dones, who lives in Rockville, had just met an adherent of an ancient northern Albanian tradition in which women take an oath of lifelong virginity in exchange for the right to live as men. The…
denialism | August 13, 2007Responding to an idiotic challenge from Vox Day Scott Hatfield has chosen to debate Vox at some point after August 15th.
I don't know what to think. On the one hand, debating a crank like Vox day is unlikely to do anyone any good. It's not like a guy who doesn't think that science is valid (all science I know, he's crazy) is likely to be receptive to anything but their pre-formed worldview. On the other hand, it may help people see just how much of a lunatic crank Vox Day is. Although I don't know that we need evidence beyond the fact he writes for World Nut Daily.
In the end, I think it'…
denialism | August 13, 2007The Wall Street Journal comments on some select results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing which this year included some questions on economics.
Pop quiz. Which has been most important in reducing poverty over time: a) taxes, b) economic growth, c) international trade, or d) government regulation?
Now this is an interesting question, does it have a simple answer? Here's what the WSJ says.
We know what our readers would say. But lest you think American young people are slouching toward serfdom, you'll be pleased to know that 53% of U.S. high school seniors…
choofnagle | August 10, 2007Where does one start with this?
Some bald dude who lives in Maui and talks about ancient Chinese texts and gives advice on "The Power of Intention" belongs in a strip mall, not on PBS.
Looks like the PBS Ombudsman has commented on objections to Dr. Wayne Dyer (PBS can't say his name, not once, without prefacing it with Dr.) in the past, in the way that ineffectual ones always do--by simply restating individuals' objections. Yes, I heard you. You said X. Congratulations. Sincerely, the Ombudsman.
What's most annoying about this is that it must work. Loopy Californians must watch this guy…
choofnagle | August 10, 2007Today's WSJ has a profoundly sad article about the real life of some Second Lifers. It's worth a read, especially the end of the article, where you find gems like this:
Back in the world of Second Life, Mr. Hoogestraat's avatar and Tenaj have gotten bored at the beach, so they teleport to his office, a second-floor room with a large, tinted window overlooking the stage of the strip club he owns. Tenaj plays with her pug, Jolly Roger, commanding the dog to sit and fetch its toy. Dutch drinks a Corona, Mr. Hoogestraat's beer of choice in real life, and sits at his desk. For a while, Mr.…
denialism | August 10, 2007The critical word being "think". Cato's Daniel Mitchell writes The More You Tax, the Less You Get . His stunning proof? Cigarette taxes. Wow.
An article in USA Today notes that big tax hikes on tobacco have dramatically reduced consumption of cigarettes. This is hardly surprising. Indeed, politicians openly state that they want higher tobacco taxes to discourage smoking, and their economic analysis is correct (even if their nanny-state impulses are not).
It is frustrating, though, that the same politicians quickly forget economic analysis when the debate shifts to taxes on work, saving…
denialism | August 10, 2007Today's post is one of the best ever. Woodwinds are the instruments of Satan.
denialism | August 10, 2007Do I have to roll up a newspaper?
Big Tom warned me in today's cranks post of the ABC news' headline Global Warming Tipping Point in '09?" in regards to this paper from the Hadley Centre on new more sophisticated modeling techniques. Could they be more boneheaded?
Fortunately, nowhere in the article do they mention "tipping" points for '09, it's just that yellow headline. The point of the story is that this modeling that uses current weather patterns and data to model climate for the near future shows a likely lull in the current upward trend before further increases in temperature after…
denialism | August 10, 2007Today is a big day for cranks in two separate areas, but the interesting thing is the similarity of the responses.
First we have Casey Luskin of the "top think tank" the Discovery Institute (wow, they must be right up there with Cato and CEI!) blathering about paleontologists don't know anything because of the self-correcting nature of science.
After this latest find, one researcher realized its implications and was quick to quash any doubts this may spark regarding human evolution, stating: "All the changes to human evolutionary thought should not be considered a weakness in the theory of…
denialism | August 10, 2007As if I needed more evidence for the phenomenon of crank magnetism, Mike Adams has a post on the Nutrition behind the Secret.
Apparently, the secret to the Secret is Mike Adams nutritional advice.
Few people really know one of the most important secrets to making "The Secret" work: Establishing the right nutrition and dietary habits that clear your nervous system and allow intention to flow.
In this article, I'll share some of the best nutritional secrets about The Secret, covering:
1) Foods and substances that interfere with the power of your intention.
2) Foods and substances that enhance…
denialism | August 10, 2007What is it about "family" organizations and bigotry? That's some definition of family they've got there. The latest comes courtesy of the American Family News Network, and features the lovely hate of Congressman Bill Sali.
"We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes -- and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers," asserts Sali.
Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United…