Skepticism
Skepchick Quickies, 7.27
- Parents who relied on prayer instead of medical care dodged manslaughter conviction in the death of their infant daughter. (Thanks to Detroitus.)
- Weed, booze, cocaine and other old-school medicine ads. (Thanks to Chasmosaur.)
- Senators seek coverage for alternative therapies. (Thanks to Michael.)
- Secret revealed: robots think people taste like bacon. (Thanks to MiddleMan.)
- One of our regular commenters, Kaylia Marie, recently appeared on her local television station to talk about her new book. Congrats!
Congrats Kaylia! Excellent TV appearance!
The news said that robot identified a reporter as prosciutto and a cameraman as bacon. Yet another reason to implement Asimov’s laws of robotics.
1st link: What a travesty of justice. This will only enable other unfit parents.
Secret revealed:
Bacon is people!
More important secret revealed:
Bacon-flavored people make us reconsider cannibalism.
You would taste so good with a light pineapple glaze, my dear…mmmmm….people…
@Didac: Worse news, the Mid-Wife pointed out that the article itself is over three years old. Have the robot overlords’ tastes changed in that time?
One loses confidence in a court system that doesn’t recognize this horrifying abuse and neglect as worthy of a manslaughter charge. “Criminal mistreatment”? Really?
From the old-school ads:
Rectally-employed barbiturates!?! For children!?!
Who wants to bet that this is one of the sources of “alien-anal-probe” memories?
Also:
“Is that your child screaming?”
“Could be, but thanks to Nervie(tm), I don’t give a rat’s ass.”
Wow, hey Jen, thanks for the link!
@Bjornar: Thank you! It was actaully a lot of fun.
Ok, now to read the other links :)
Congratulations Kaylia Marie!
Good interview.
Ok, now I’m pissed:
They thought the kid had a cold? The mother got off because she wasn’t paying as much attention? The kid was dosed with a healthy dose of olive oil?
And he gets… a year? Grrr!!!!!!
Robotics tip #314: Many English phrases that appear straightforward to humans are likely to confuse a robot. For example, never tell a robot (especially one that thinks you taste like prosciutto), “make me a sandwich”. The alternative phrasing, “make a sandwich for me” has a much higher survival rate for the requester.
@Steve: COTW
@Steve: second COTW
— Congratulations Kaylia
— Insufficient experimental controls. Perhaps the cameraman fries bacon naked.
— Just because a parent cares about their kids does not mean that they are making good decisions.
We are all responsible for our actions. As They say, the road to Hell and all that.
@Steve: LOL Thricing that COTW.
“They’re people. They’re not monsters,” she said at a press conference at the Clackamas County courthouse. “They had no intention of harming their child. They’re good parents.”
See, I agreed with this juror right until she hit that last sentence. No, they aren’t monsters. Sure, they’re people. That doesn’t make them good, or even competent parents. If your child dies from lack of basic antibiotics, in the US, you have failed as a parent. No two ways about it.
@ZachTP: Exactly! It’s the second degree of woo in action. The jurors thought to themselves (or may have been mislead by the defense) “Studies show that prayer works to heal people. It would have been better if the child had medical treatment but you can’t blame parents who were trying.”
Then the mother cries some, the other daughter is healthy. And oh yeah, ‘freedom of religion.’
This church has harmed children before – The trial was the first under a 10-year-old Oregon law that bars legal defenses based on religious practices in most abuse cases. The law was a response to previous deaths among young members of the Followers of Christ.
It is not unreasonable to suggest that other followers of this cult will be less likely to get attention for their children after this verdict.
I guess its OK to kill your kids if do it with sincerely held religious beliefs.
Anyone else check out the nuttery in the comments on the old drugs site?
And nominating steve for COTW
@Kaylia_Marie: Oh, yeah, and did you get why the mother “wasn’t paying attention?” Because in their community, “husbands make all important decisions.”
@Steve: Everyone else beat me to it, but, yeah, that was great. :)
I love the cigarette ad that claims to cure asthma and bad breath. At least they had a disclaimer that it’s not for children under 6.
@Kaylia_Marie: Whats the book about?
@russellsugden: It is a short story collection about people trying to connect to one another.
Read more on my website: http://www.kayliametcalfe.com
Yes, yes I am shameless.
Does the heroin cough suppressant really suppress your cough, or do you just not care that you’re coughing anymore?
@Steve: haha, that was great. COTW for sure.
Does anyone else find the the Boston.com article about the “alternative medicine” and the parenting article frighteningly synergistic? Isn’t prayer a form of “alternative medicine?” Instead of praying for the child maybe they should have tried Dr. Herbert Bensons’ Relaxation Response.