RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/February 2016

February 2016
America's unlearned lesson: the forgotten truth about why we invaded Iraq Why self-driving cars must be programmed to kill Why reporting on health and science is a good way to lose friends and alienate people. How the alien hunters conquered astronomy My son, the Columbine high school shooter: ‘a mother is supposed to know’ Bernie should let out his inner Trump and expose Hillary as a liar to finally rid the earth of "Clintonism" once and for all. If you work hard, own an iPhone and have no shame, you too can be an Amazon #1 best-selling author! Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster. Donald Trump is winning because white America is dying. Jezebel takes the Conspira Sea Cruise, featuring "one-man public health disaster" Andrew Wakefield. Matt Taibbi explains the flaws in our social/media/electoral system: How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable. Bernie Sanders is the worst Presidential candidate in US history. (Satire) Trump's victories aren't mysterious. Young Americans are extremely liberal and optimistic about the future. From the Road to the White House with Stephen Colbert: Marco Rubio uses stock Canadian footage in his campaign ad. It would have been more appropriate if Ted Cruz did this. Let's dispel the notion that Marco the Robot knows what he's doing. He has absolutely no idea what he's doing. Annie Tan, Vincent Chin's niece, disagrees with the comparison made between Officer Liang's imprisonment and her uncle's murder. John McAfee discusses the state of the US's cyber security. From Secular Talk: Bernie Sanders is attacked for his stance on healthcare and responds with stupidity-piercing facts. What naturopaths say to each other when they think no one’s listening, part 2(see Naturopathy and Michael Uzick) The Unbearable Asymmetry of Bullshit: It's vastly easier to produce than to refute. Inside the world’s first transgender mosque. How making it illegal to criticize Israel threatens free speech. Hillary’s Top Donor Just Bought The Onion — Started Publishing Propaganda Immediately Vice takes a look at Electric Universe proponents. That time Peyton Manning sexually assaulted and defamed an athletic trainer. New Atheism, Old Empire When #BelieveTheVictims meets #DueProcess How to tell if you believe in bullshit with a helpful board by Maddox. [http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/whats-the-point-of-acupuncture/ What’s the point of acupuncture? A TCM practitioner wants out](see Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine) Some libertarians are "feeling the bern" too: Is There a Libertarian Case for Bernie Sanders?/ (See also: Betteridge's law of headlines) Iranian official claims that Republican legislators contacted the country to delay the release of hostages until after the presidential election. Shades of 1980? So, who is this Nevada legislator who helped Franklin Graham negotiate the end of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff? She got into politics when casino owner Steve Wynn encouraged her to run for Congress in 2010. She's a gun-loving libertarian who gained notoriety for her 2015 family Xmas card where everybody over the age of four was carrying a gun. She was raised in Brooklyn by a lesbian mother, so she's for gay marriage (and legalizing marijuana). When Cliven Bundy had his own standoff in 2014, she encouraged law enforcement officers to disobey the orders of their superiors. She wrote, produced and starred in a movie where she's a middle aged housewife-turned-rock star. She has claimed on her talk radio show (yes, she has one of those) that she believes that cancer is a fungus that can be treated with salt water and baking soda. And she's running for Congress again this year. Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote "Suing families of slain black youths is racial capitalism at its most grotesque". Referring to "Chicago Police Officer Robert Rialmo [suing] the estate of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier for $10m." An insight into the notorious Charismatic churches of Africa, and the calls for regulation surrounding them. Zoe Quinn: Why I Just Dropped The Harassment Charges Against The Man Who Started GamerGate. After the New Hampshire Republican primary Trump nearly doubles his last unemployment fib to 42%, well above the actual unemployment rate of 4.9%, stating he heard it on Fox News. Turns out the only person on Fox repeating this deranged number is Donald Trump himself. Turns out pickup artists may be victims of the same patriarchy that they claim to be nonexistent. On the 60s/70s fascination with the occult and the contemporary strength of conspiracy theories. "The GOP Is a Failed State, and Trump Is Its Warlord." The “pH Miracle Diet” naturopath is guilty, but California still has a problem(see Alkaline diet and Robert O. Young) How abortion opponents secretly bought a Virginia abortion clinic to deceive women. Some churches require members to sign "membership covenants" which are legal contracts that protect churches from lawsuits and, more ominously, cause those members to curtail their constitutionally provided rights and subject them to "chuch discipline". Federal Lawsuit Alleges That Two Towns Refused Water Requests for Non-Mormons The FBI's claim that encryption prevents necessary surveillance is BS. A little late getting this up, but so missional: Three-part CBC series titled "Science under Siege" looks at the relationship between science and political power. Cracked: 5 Conspiracy Theories That Are Real (But Not How You Think).