Huffington Post endorses magic

I have to agree with Steve Novella that it’s not at all shocking to me that the Huffington Post has published a piece endorsing the “Science of Distant Healing.” For some reason I can’t create a link, so you can find Steve Novella talking about this here:

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=505

As Steve says:

Any publication with the lax journalistic standards that would allow such rabid antivaccinationist nonsense to be published under its banner is capable of almost anything.

You can go to the URL above to learn more about this. I’m just content to say this is preposterous and anyone who believes this crap is delusional.

Atheist Bus Campaign arriving in NYC?

Tonight I attended a meeting of the New York City Atheists, who had a very special guest, Ed Buckner, the new president of American Atheists since Ellen Johnson “resigned” (?). But in addition to the updates about the direction of American Atheists that included a brand new fundraising campaign, the head of New York City Atheists announced that they’re taking steps to bring bus ads to NYC, the first of which they intend to be the same ad seen on London buses:

Skeptics unite to discuss how you can get involved in promoting good skepticism

In 2007, Junior Skeptic Editor Daniel Loxton wrote an essay entitled, Where Do We Go From Here, that addressed the future of skeptical activist, which he recited on the Skepticality podcast.

But many people wanted to know how they could get involved and what’s the next step. So now a league of 13 extraordinary skeptics, including Loxton, have assembled to address just that.

Those thirteen skeptics include:
Daniel Loxton (Junior Skeptic magazine); Benjamin Radford (Skeptical Inquirer magazine); Dr. Eugenie Scott (National Center for Science Education); Jeff Wagg (James Randi Educational Foundation); D.J. Grothe (Point of Inquiry podcast); Brian Dunning (Skeptoid podcast); Dr. Karen Stollznow (The Skeptic magazine); Robynn “Swoopy” McCarthy (Skepticality podcast); Kylie Sturgess (Skeptic Zone podcast); Tim Farley (What’s the Harm? and Skeptools websites); Dr. Randy Olson (Flock of Dodos documentary); Pat Linse (Skeptic magazine); Jay Novella (The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe podcast)

One of those skeptics is Kylie Sturgess, one of my partners on Stop Jenny McCarthy. It’s a pretty awesome collection of people (except for Randy Olson, whose 2 appearances on Skepticality convinced me he was a dick).

Anyway, hope this inspires lots of others to get involved in skeptical activism.

And on a similar note, Skeptologist Mark Edward makes some more suggestions regarding skeptical activism here.

The schools are alive with the sound of child indoctrination

St. Johns County School District in Florida has a very interesting take education. One part of the songs they were considering for a choir concert at an elementary school had the following lyrics:

Can you believe some parents were offended by this? I know. Who would have thought, right? Anyway, 1 group of parents got the school to pull the plug on the song and is now suing the pants off the school board.

Rise of Atheism to be Taught in British Religious Studies Classes

Religious Studies classes in the UK have added “rise of atheism” to their curricula.

The “groundbreaking” new syllabus largely excludes the Bible and other religious texts.

…

Religious attitudes towards medical and sexual ethics, including areas such as same-sex relationships and cloning, will be covered.

The influence of the British Humanist Association, the group behind the recent atheist bus advertisements, and the novels of Philip Pullman will be included.

After already having a better health care system and slang, the damn limey’s have now officially surpassed us in their Religious Studies class too. Bollacks!

The latest woo to ‘watch’ out for

Tired of that old watch? Wishing you could have a watch that could tell the future? Well now you can, thanks to the Swiss watchmaker Borgeaud. That’s right, if you’re easily fooled by preposterous nonsense, Borgeaud has the watch for you:

Borgeaud has released a watch that will display a daily, 90 minute period known as the Raju Kaal (Rahukaalam, Rahu Kalam) that, according to Indian astrology, is considered an inauspicious period.

. . .

“The study of Panchangas involves understanding Rasi phala, the impact of the signs of the zodiac on the individual. Astrologers consult the Panchangam to set auspicious dates for weddings, corporate mergers, and other worldly activities as per religion.”

And that’s not all! The watch comes in 2 colors:  Gravitas Black and Gravitas Silver.

Now you might expect to pay up to a buck to $2.50 for a piece of crap this idiotic. But act now and you can buy this limited edition and numbered garbage for the low, low price of $2000.

Wow! Thanks Borgeaud!!

Better living through vaccination

Here‘s a great blog by John Snyder, the most recent addition to the writing crew at Science-Based Medicine.  In it he elaborates on some of the incredible harm caused by anti-vaccine hysteria.

Parental vaccine refusal endangers lives. Here we have a situation in which an unavoidable shortage of a vital vaccine, has combined with an irrational parental mistrust of expert scientific opinion to create a critical mass of vulnerable children. The result, so far, is four dead children. But in the absence of any shortage, vaccine myth and the poor parental decision making it breeds has already had a profound impact, with the potential for more to come. In the never-ending wake of Wakefield, measles outbreaks have occurred in pockets of under-immunized children in areas of New York, San Diego, and Milwaukee.  Particularly in communities where parents know how to do their own “research” about vaccines. Many more children have suffered unnecessarily in the U.K. and elsewhere as a result of the spreading wave of panic over fictionalized vaccine dangers. In fact, as bad as this wave of vaccine parananoia is in the U.S., it’s far worse in Europe and the U.K. where vaccine mythology is rampant, and the threat of vaccine preventable epidemics is very real. This widening circle of vaccine fear across the Atlantic is a major threat to children in this country.  Imported cases of vaccine-preventable disease can now find increasing populations of under-immunized children in which to take root.

To see children fall ill and die from completely preventable diseases because of irrational fear and a belief in myth should truly make us angry. Those of us who have the knowledge and experience to speak out publicly should do so. We should seek every opportunity at our disposal to speak with a clear and unintimidated voice to say that we’ve had enough. Enough of the armchair pseudoscience. Enough of the misinformed journalists. Enough of the celebrity grandstanding. That parents in this day and age would arrange a chicken pox or a measles party so that their children could actually get these diseases rather than have them safely vaccinated makes me want to scream. The hours I spend trying to correct the massive amounts of misinformation foisted on parents who believe a seemingly endless array of conjured myth is mind-numbing. We should be calling out the phoney mavericks, charlatans, and know-nothings for who they are. Robert Kennedy, Jr., David Kirby, and J.B. Handley believe they are fighting the noblist of fights. What they are doing, of course, is endangering lives. But more broadly, their rhetoric endangers the already fragile relationship society has with an evidence-based approach to understanding the world. It is our responsibility to make it known that the controversy is over. No, that there never was a controversy in the first place. That science and reason will not allow another child to die or suffer needlessly. Really, where is the outrage?

The whole article is really worth the read.

AFA wants you to watch Family Guy

The bigots at the American Family Association are not too happy with Family Guy. Now they’ve launched a fatwa against the cartoon:

Fox’s ‘Family Guy’ goes too far; file a complaint with the FCC

File an official complaint with the FCC against the FOX network and your local FOX affiliate station.

March 25, 2009

On March 8, Fox network aired Family Guy, a perverted and sickening program, into the homes of millions of Americans. This episode was rated TV-14 DLSV by FOX, meaning that in the network’s opinion it was appropriate for 14-year olds. It aired during prime-time.

The content of this program was so explicit that I can’t even begin to describe it here.

Click here to watch these scenes or read our detailed review. WARNING: These scenes taken from the Fox program Family Guy are highly offensive.

Even more offensive is Fox’s view of Christianity. At a “straight” meeting, the speaker talks to gays about Jesus and tells them, “He [Jesus] hates many people, but none more than homosexuals.
” Incidentally, Pepsico helped sponsor this program (BoycottPepsico.com.

You really cannot get the full effect of the show’s portrayal of Christianity without watching the video or reading our review. You will hear the tone and sarcasm very clearly.

The FCC has a duty to enforce the law and fine Fox for this sickening violation of broadcast decency standards. In addition, your local FOX network affiliate did not have to air this episode. Obviously, they do not care about your local community standards.

It must be so horrible to be so insecure that your beliefs can be so threatened by cartoon show. Sucks to be them.

Science is saved in Texas

This is a play-by-play of the Texas State Board of Education meeting voting on whether or not to use the language “strengths and weaknesses” (the latest anti-evolution code) in their science standards:

10:07 – The board is about to begin its debate on science.

10:09 – Board member Ken Mercer of San Antonio moves to add “strengths and weaknesses” back into the science standards.

10:12 – Mercer: This about allowing students to discuss and question strengths and weaknesses of all scientific theories. He claims receiving 15,0000-16,000 e-mails on this from around the state.

10:15 – Mercer goes down the “microevolution” vs. “macroevolution” path again. And he brings up “Piltdown man” and a list of other “weaknesses” he claims plague evolutionary theory.

10:19 – OK, it looks like board member David Bradley’s computer screen has TFN Insider up. Good morning, Mr. Bradley!

10:20 – Member Bob Craig of Lubbock offers a substitute amendment. “I am fully cognizant to the difference between faith and science. But I believe they can co-exist.” He argues that what the writing teams suggested in December still allows students to freely discuss all aspects of science. Mr. Craig proposes to keep the work group language (without “strengths and weaknesses”) but adds “including discussing what is not fully understood so as to encourage critical thinking by the student.”

10:26 – Dallas member Geraldine “Tincy” Miller supports Mr. Craig’s motion.

10:30 – This should be interesting. Mr. Mercer and other creationists have argued that taking “strengths and weaknesses” out of the standards will bar students from discussing and asking questions. Mr. Craig’s amendment addresses that, explicitly affirms the right of students to discuss and question while keeping phony “weaknesses” out of textbooks.

10:32 – Mavis Knight speaks in favor of Mr. Craig’s motion.

10:34 – The creationists have a difficult decision to make here. Is this about the freedom of students to ask questions, as they have argued, or is this about promoting phony attacks on evolution in textbooks?

10:36 – Pat Hardy speaks in favor of Mr. Craig’s motion.

10:37 – Terri Leo opposes Mr. Craig’s motion. She says the language is “too ambiguous.” She wants teachers to tell students specific “weaknesses.”

10:38 – Lawrence Allen supports Mr. Craig’s motion.

10:39 – By the way, Texas Freedom Network supports Mr. Craig’s motion (although we hadn’t seen it until now). It’s a wise and responsible way to ensure that students are free to ask questions. That’s how they learn.

10:41 – Cynthia Dunbar opposes Mr. Craig’s motion. She notes a comment from Ms. Miller that she (Ms. Miller) is a committed Christian. Ms. Dunbar says that religious beliefs are irrelevant to what the board should so. Oh, really? Then why have her creationist colleagues and their allies questioned the faith of those who oppose putting “strengths and weaknesses” in the standards.

10:43 – Rick Agosto opposes Mr. Craig’s amendment. “If it’s not ‘fully understood,’ then I don’t consider that science.”

10:44 – Once again, Mr. Craig has moved that the board retain the language proposed by writing teams in December (without “strengths and weaknesses”) but add to the expectation that students analyze and evaluate scientific explanations: “including discussing what is not fully understood so as to encourage critical thinking by the student.”

10:46 – Barbara Cargill opposes Mr. Craig’s motion. She says “strengths and weaknesses” language protects the ability of teachers to tell students “weaknesses” of evolution (however phony those “weaknesses” are, apparently). “Darwinists have tried to smother all the challenges … (and) weaknesses of evolution.”

10:52 – Mr. Mercer opposes Mr. Craig’s motion. “What are they afraid of? Why all this national attention over one word, ‘weaknesses’?”

10:54 – McLeroy calls a 10-minute recess.

11:08 – They’re back. Ms. Knight moves to change Mr. Craig’s amendment to read: “fully understand IN ALL FIELD OF SCIENCE.” So the wording would be: “including discussing what is not fully understood in all fields of science.” The board accepts that change without objection. We’re back to Mr. Craig’s motion.

11:12 – Mr. Craig’s motion fails 6-8. We’re back to Mr. Mercer’s original amendment adding back “strengths and weaknesses.”

11:13 – Mr. Mercer’s motion fails 7-7!!!

11;15 – This is huge victory for sound science education in Texas. Moreover, the creationists’ opposition to Mr. Craig’s motion exposed their hypocrisy about wanting to ensure that students can ask questions about science.

And once again, good triumphs over evil! Way to go, guys.

Objectophilia?

There are some people who literally fall in love with physical objects instead of human beings. They even sometimes give those objects names. Here is a clip from a documentary on people who love bridges, towers, walls, etc. One of the women in the video marries the Eiffel Tower in a private ceremony. Another married the Berlin Wall in the 70′s. That one didn’t end well. Another woman had a relationship with a guillotine.