RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/September 2008

September 2008
The McCain camp continues its race to the bottom, adding quote mining to its list of deceptions.] All Obama needs to do to win this thing: invoke the Gipper. Live-blogging the debate. Can Ariane Sherine herd cats as her campaign to get the message "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and get on with your life" pasted onto the side of a bus restarts via social networks this time? Did McCain ever intend to actually cancel the debate? Signs point to no. [http://www.acandidworld.net/2008/09/26/why-america-needs-a-constitution-but-england-doesnt/ Why America needs a Constitution... but England doesn't.] The Discovery Institute has released a new textbook to supplant Of Pandas and People, which was embarrassingly exposed as being a creationist screed edited only with shoddy find-and-replace. PZ Myers disapproves. Blast from the past: as the regulation comment period draws to a close, be sure to send in your comment for the "Provider Conscience Regulation." Feel free to steal and use this response. Can female politicians be expected to be pro-choice? And what's up with gay Republicans? More on minority political identity. President Bush has wholly abdicated the President's constitutional responsibility of guarding the meaning and integrity of the Constitution. Not that that's a surprise. "Anyone who contributes to Conservapedia is guilty of willfully eroding the collective intellect, to the detriment of all" skeptoid Casey Luskin understands neither law nor science: the words "separation of powers" actually mean something, and they aren't just a way of shouting down opinions you don't like. The privileged life of Sarah Palin. "What Makes People Vote Republican?", plus nine responses and rebuttals. A proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution will define conception as the beginning of life: this is just the most recent in Colorado's long, shameful history of unconstitutional constitutions. The ever insightful, Beliefnet blogger Michele 'All Democrats Suck' McGinty ("Reformed Chicks Blabbing") channels her inner Schlafly with a post:"Palin Derangement Syndrome" <vote poll=blog94 closed="yes">YouTube video of Moose-olini's Freudian slip. <vote poll=blog93 closed="yes">Best explanation for the continued success of the Republican Party I've heard yet: "the Republicans are the party of people who want to be lied to." <vote poll=blog92 closed="yes">A 1981 injunction bars the Republican National Committee from practicing voter caging. But that hasn't stopped some local GOP officials from trying to deny voter rights to people who have lost their houses to foreclosure. <vote poll=blog91 closed="yes">So, what did Bush learn from Hurricane Katrina? Institute no-fly zones and press blackouts of the devastated area! That's certainly easier than making FEMA do its job. <vote poll=blog90 closed="yes">From the 22 September 2008 issue of Newsweek: "Put Palin on the Supreme Court". (This seems to be very subtle satire like the recent New Yorker cover of Barack and Michelle Obama. Let's hope Newsweek is just trolling.)  16 September 2008 <vote poll=blog89 closed="yes">McCain waffles on stem cells in his ScienceDebate2008 answers, leaving open the question of whether he's following his principles or his unprincipled running mate. *15 September 2008 <vote poll=blog88 closed="yes"> "theory of childhood" rejected <vote poll=blog87 closed="yes">Something you won't see in CP's broken news - Alaska's largest ever political rally is anti-Palin. 14 September 2008 <vote poll=blog86 closed="yes">McCain resorts to the dirty tactics that lost him the primary in 2000: push-polling and voter suppression with phony ballots. 12 September 2008 <vote poll=blog85 closed="yes">Did The Big Lebowski predict the rise of the neo-cons? <vote poll=blog84 closed="yes">McCain continues his winning campaign tactic - lying - by claiming that Obama wants to teach the nasty to kindergarteners. The truth is much more boring. 10 September 2008 <vote poll=blog83 closed="yes">A British take on Palin & creationism (with intelligent comments). 8 September 2008 <vote poll=blog82 closed="yes">Palin, proud to be a rapture-ready young earth creationist. 9 September 2008 <vote poll=blog81 closed="yes">A few thoughts on the LHC and "Faith-Base" Science. 8 September 2008 <vote poll=blog80 closed="yes">Substantive questions at McCain campaign pep rallies are unwelcome. 8 September 2008 <vote poll=blog79 closed="yes">America isn't one big small town, and we sure as hell don't need another culture war. 8 September 2008 <vote poll=blog78 closed="yes">Sarah Palin utterly failed to address teen pregnancy. Bristol proves the point. While we should respect her privacy, it's fair to point out how Bristol's life is a microcosm of her mother's denialist policies. 6 September 2008 <vote poll=blog77 closed="yes">Measles are on the rise. Blame vaccine denialists. 5 September 2008 <vote poll=blog76 closed="yes">While Sarah Palin threatens to usher in the culture wars again, her running mate talks moderate, showing a distinct split in the Republican party that leaves room to wonder who's really in charge. 5 September, 2008 <vote poll=blog75 closed="yes">Let Them Count Houses: Can't we escape this tiresome demagoguery about candidates' income and property? by Christopher Hitchens. September 1, 2008 <vote poll=blog74 closed="yes">In California, the law is copyrighted. How can you be blamed for breaking the law then? (September 3, 2008) <vote poll=blog73 closed="yes">Holy God I hate Phyllis Schlafly. Why do Republicans love her!? And, more importantly, what does that tell us about them? <vote poll=blog72 closed="yes">Will Sarah Palin pull out or back down? Kos says, just you wait. <vote poll=blog71 closed="yes">Sarah Palin waffles on the issue of creationism in the schools - does it matter? Debate away! <vote poll=blog70 closed="yes">Sarah Palin quote about "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance: "If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance." Minor quibble: the Pledge was written a hundred years after the "founding fathers" lived. <vote poll=blog69 closed="yes">Three reasons to be deeply worried about the Health & Human Services department's attempt to make abortions less accessible, and what to do about it.  (1 September 2008)