RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/April 2013

April 2013
"Best" thank you's to George W. Bush Sandra Day O'Connor: In hindsight, I fucked up. Pseudo scholarship exposed (along with debunking resources) What the George W. Bush museum should look like. "The print media are here for two very good reasons: food, and shelter." Say hello to Daniel Day-Lewis' fourth Academy Award! (Oh God, he's broken the self-deprecation meter.) Conclusive Proof That There Is No God and Humans Are Essentially Evil The truly sad and disturbing story of Pony the Orangutan.

Let me tell you the tale of a Fox News wannabe begging the government for welfare... After thirteen years of being spotted in gay bars, ex-gay poster boy John Paulk (not to be confused with that Pope) comes out and apologises for spreading myths about changes in sexuality and announces his upcoming divorce. So, yes boys, he's single. The next five states to take on same-sex marriage, and some interesting survey results. No surprise that religion is far and away the most popular reason to oppose equality.

What is this? A Canadian Senator who's actually competent and useful? Whoop-de-fucking-doo. (For non-US viewers) No worries, everyone. Social network fuckwits (*cough*Reddit*cough*), fuck off. "George Soros is living every man's dream: Reading what people might say about him at his funeral." Surprisingly, it's not the easiest question to answer, so using a combination of a Twitter news feed and crowd-sourcing, Slate.com has logged every gun-related fatality in the US since Newtown on December 14th - as of now, all 3,500 of them, including the 60+ children, many of whom were shot and killed in accidents. <vote poll=blog2988 closed="yes">Zoning regulations are for commies. <vote poll=blog2987 closed="yes">The Onion explains how to pass gun control legislation. <vote poll=blog2986 closed="yes">The New Yorker covers the wingnut paranoia about the injured Saudi in the Boston Marathon. All the usual characters here. <vote poll=blog2985 closed="yes">The Corn God's schedule. <vote poll=blog2984 closed="yes">Ian McKellen pwns the Iron Homophobe. <vote poll=blog2983 closed="yes">It happened again. Spain this time, and at night. <vote poll=blog2982 closed="yes">Another Reddit thread from FakePsychic, this time focusing on the social engineering side of being a fake psychic and doing cold reading over the phone. <vote poll=blog2981 closed="yes">This is not going to end well.

<vote poll=blog2979 closed="yes">UnNews: Was 9/11 an outside job? <vote poll=blog2978 closed="yes">The saga of David Mayo. <vote poll=blog2977 closed="yes">Why Bitcoin is no longer a currency. <vote poll=blog2976 closed="yes" closed="yes"> A support group for survivors of homeschooling at its worst. Controversial bishop speaks out on the Catholic Church's abuse crisis. <vote poll=blog2975 closed="yes">Rand Paul speaks at Howard University about the bewilderment the GOP feels at being abandoned by African-Americans. Jon Stewart takes the opportunity to explain it to him. (2 videos) <vote poll=blog2974 closed="yes">With Ireland's constitutional convention soon to make its decision on clearing same-sex marriage for referendum, this piece shows concerns about always showing both sides of a politicised issue, putting minority rights to majority vote, but focusing on how it affects the mental health of LGBT people. <vote poll=blog2973 closed="yes">Gore's Law: pretty much all that's left in the conservative denialist playbook. (Oh, and bask at the Coultergeist inadvertently admitting that she's helping to combat climate change.) <vote poll=blog2972 closed="yes">How to construct your own Susan Greenfield technological panic article. <vote poll=blog2971 closed="yes">Larry Moran: Educating an Intelligent Design Creationist. (Latest post in series, with links.) <vote poll=blog2970 closed="yes">It's the vaccines that saved lives dumbass. Vaccine deniers still ignore the evidence. <vote poll=blog2969 closed="yes">Charles Socarides, the man who formed reparative therapy, has a son. He's gay. <vote poll=blog2968 closed="yes">RIP Doomsday Lady. :( <vote poll=blog2967 closed="yes">Glenn Beck suffers a sudden outbreak of common sense, uses libertarian arguments to vocalize endorsement for same sex marriage. <vote poll=blog2966 closed="yes">The easiest way to determine China's views on North Korea: link them to Jon Stewart. (YT link) <vote poll=blog2965 closed="yes">Dispelling pointless post-death etiquette in wake of the death of the iron bitch. <vote poll=blog2964 closed="yes">NonStampCollector's last blog post details some of the ridiculous attacks he had endured due to his membership in Freethought Blogs (and his perceived support for Atheism+). Choice quote: "Some of these anti-FTBers make 911-Truthers look like Ph.D geniuses. Sorry, it’s just the fucking truth." Indeed. <vote poll=blog2963 closed="yes">Neal's Yard promotes homeopathy for measles, because they are murderous pieces of shit. <vote poll=blog2962 closed="yes">Stick figure science: "This is NOT evolution." <vote poll=blog2961 closed="yes">TEDTalk video: "What Doctors Don't Know About the Drugs They Prescribe."  Some real world effects of publication bias, by Ben Goldacre. <vote poll=blog2960 closed="yes">The process of science as seen through awkward stock photography. <vote poll=blog2959 closed="yes">Jon Stewart on Sean Hannity's on-air admission that "my father hit me with a belt and I turned out okay": "Seriously? You're okay? Have you seen your show?" <vote poll=blog2958 closed="yes">Video commentary from the film critic on CBS Sunday Morning: A certain trend in movie violence (men made impotent, women imperiled) illustrates one of the main fears that drives America's gun culture --"We're obsessed with being attacked." <vote poll=blog2957 closed="yes">The Best Amendment <vote poll=blog2956 closed="yes">When bloggers complain about Twitter. <vote poll=blog2955 closed="yes">Ronald Reagan's daughter: My Dad would have supported same-sex marriage. <vote poll=blog2954 closed="yes">Sam Harris, scientific racism, the new atheism and Islam. Update: Harris replies in conversation with Greenwald <vote poll=blog2953 closed="yes">But who will tell me that my movie sucks? UPDATE: NOOOOOOOOOO <vote poll=blog2952 closed="yes">The history of the solar system, Scientology-style. <vote poll=blog2951 closed="yes">The Onion summarizes the arguments for and against same-sex marriage.