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Skepticism
Okay Oregon, it’s time.
Thirteen years ago I moved to Portland from San Francisco. I told myself that I would wait at least ten years before I started venturing into writing about local politics and for the most part I have done so. But dammit, Oregon, it’s about time that we follow the example of 12 other states and legalize marriage equality. Look, we…
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Featured
Water, Water, Lies About Water Everywhere
In Portland we are currently being treated to a three-ring circus of anti-fluoridation woo. In the first full week of May we will be voting on whether or not to fluoridate the public water supply. The debate about it seems to have been plucked almost directly from the John Birch Society circa 1961. There are shadowy conspiracies of doctors,…
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Skepticism
The Signs are Right
Forget the Mayans. I have definitive, incontrovertible proof that the zombie apocalypse (sorry robots, you were too late) is upon us. Pat Robertson has all but admitted that Young Earth Creationism is wrong! Okay, clean off your keyboard because I know you just sputtered your libation all over it. Done? Laptop still working? Good. Read on. “Look, I know that…
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Skepticism
A Breathtaking Exercise in Journalistic Dishonesty
Just to get this out of the way, I know that bloggers are not necessarily journalists but David Mona-Smith, writing at Indian Country Today back in July of 2012, advertises himself as a journalist-in-training and so I’m holding him to a higher standard. Mr Mona-Smith not only deliberately misinterprets what a geneticist is saying but does so in an egregiously dishonest fashion…
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Skepticism
Great Idea, Wrong Species
The best pithy response about Marxism comes from E. O. Wilson, the entomologist, who responded to a question about that system with “great idea, wrong species”. I would say that Libertarianism, certainly in its current American manifestation, also falls into that category. Wilson’s point is that to a more eusocial animal, say ants, Marxism would be workable and would make…
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Skepticism
Forbes Discovers Science
Forbes, the business magazine, posted a pretty good article on discerning science from pseudo-science. The article “10 Questions To Distinguish Real From Fake Science” by Emily Willingham focuses on health and medical claims. It is a good primer, though, on general skeptical thinking. Among its many gems: What kind of language does it use? Does it involve testimonials? Given that…
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Skepticism
The Revenge of Seamus the Dog
From time to time, I wish I believed in an afterlife. This is one of those times. I would love to believe that somewhere, in some high dimension of which we know nothing, Seamus the dog could look upon Mitt Romney and think, “yeah, payback for the top the car you crazed, cold-hearted, monkey-minded excuse for a mammal.” You see,…
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