Conservative
oracknows | June 8, 2015Before 2005, I did pay attention to the antivaccine movement, but it wasn't one of my biggest priorities when it comes to promoting science-based medicine. That all changed when Robert F. Kennedy published his incredibly conspiracy-packed black whole of antivaccine pseudoscience entitled Deadly Immunity. Sadly, almost exactly ten years later, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hasn't changed. He's still spewing the same antivaccine pseudoscience and conspiracy theories that he was spewing a decade ago, with no sign of letting up.
One thing that has changed over the last decade is the social media…
oracknows | June 4, 2014Not surprisingly, being a guy who leans mildly left, I like The Daily Show. Jon Stewart and his writers are incredibly adept at skewering all manner of bovine excrement, be it political, scientific, or otherwise. In particular, the way Stewart and company skewered the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) for its promotion of the chemical industry. Indeed, Samantha Bee, who did the infamous Little Crop of Horrors segment that mocked ACSH for its defense of pesticides über alles and its criticism of Michelle Obama's healthy eating initiative.
Another Daily Show segment by Samantha Bee…
sastyk | May 16, 2011There's a really good debate going on in the combox of my Khaki Markets Post on an issue that I've been meaning to write about for a while - to what extent is it possible for people who are seeking the same social ends to work together when they use different political means. In the comboxes the discussion is mostly over whether Progressives and Libertarians can work together on local food systems, but this strikes me as a larger - and deeply critical question.
It isn't just the libertarians and the progressives who have common ground on food systems, after all. The socialists and the…
edyong | November 23, 2009In the early days of the last US elections, Hillary Clinton's campaign was accused of deliberately darkening Barack Obama's skin in a TV ad. The implication was that by highlighting Obama's "blackness", Clinton's camp was trying to exploit negative associations that voters might have with darker skin. But you don't need editing software to do that - a fascinating new study suggest that people literally change the way they see a mixed-race politician, depending on whether the candidate represents their own political views.
Liberal American students tend to think that lighter photos of Barack…
cwilcox | June 7, 2009 Our emotions are strongly tied to our morals. We're more likely to think something is wrong if it repulses us, even if we can't describe exactly why or how it is wrong. For example, most people would disapprove of consensual adult incest between siblings, but few would be able to articulate exactly why it is 'wrong.' This is very different from moral beliefs deduced from reasoning. These moral intuitions, which are highly motivated by emotional response or learned associations, are quick and require little supporting evidence in the person's mind.
Since emotions affect our morals, it easily…
gregladen | February 19, 2009Well, not really, but she did mention that we are Running Out of Rich People!!!11!!!!
This first bit below is from a few days back is just full of gems. I'm giving you the whole radio interview here. Below, is an annotated version that may be more enjoyable. Either way, shoot up some Valium first.
She gets giddy over Acorn, and at just under nine minutes declares that we are running out of rich people. She also mentions that any Republicans that don't vote as she wishes are not really Republicans. And considering how ICKY she is, it's pretty amazing that she can't pronounce the "ic…