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

October 2013
The great irony of baraminology is that the very idea of species comes from trying to explain the story of Noah's Ark. The Canadian Senate story, redux. Whatever you do, please don't "kill it with fire." Boris Johnson defends Guardian over NSA revelations. Debunking the antivaccine bullshit about the flu vaccine. For popular rag journalists: the difference between scholars and cranks The United States never was, is, or ever will be a Christian nation. Headline or RationalWiki Mad-Libs contest winner: U.S. Official Blames Shutdown for Failure to Explain NSA Spying Seventeen years on: The teenager who saved a man with an SS tattoo (It brightened my day, anyway) (Probably not a clog) An environmental appeal on behalf of the controversial and (to some) rather scary subject of wood heat. I hope this isn't a repeat. AddictingInfo: Explaining Socialism to a Republican Now you know why those energy prices keep going up. No Woman, No Drive! And now you know why the vast majority of blacks vote Democrat. (Goodbye, fucker!) Even in Load of Crap's Australia, [http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/treasurer-joe-hockey-increases-debt-limit-to-500-billion-20131022-2vz6w.html? debt limits are a non-issue.]

And again: when you debate theists, do not trust them - bring your own camera. <vote poll=blog3323 closed="yes">Biologist/blogger Kelly Weinersmith shares her story of sexual harassment in the field. <vote poll=blog3322 closed="yes">The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory. <vote poll=blog3321 closed="yes">A Canadian political scientist suggests that we might see uprisings in Jesusland again. (The hilarity that this is the same population that and as the "true" ancestors of the slave-keepers Founders — as a defense mechanism — is noted, but the Fourteenth exists for a reason.) Related: The Economist believes that this all might be racial after all. <vote poll=blog3320 closed="yes">Click the Tea Party Insult Generator for more fun today! <vote poll=blog3319 closed="yes">5 steps to save the GOP from destruction. (#1 is going to be a bit of a problem... along with #2... and #3... and possibly others.) <vote poll=blog3318 closed="yes">Avoiding Hypocrisy 101: If you want to devote your career to being against subsidized insurance, don't complain when you lose yours. <vote poll=blog3317 closed="yes">Context means everything. <vote poll=blog3316 closed="yes">We suggest Ann Druyan, Alan Alda and Duran Duran get a name change. <vote poll=blog3315 closed="yes">We hope you had the time of your life. Related: If true (in the words of Hubert Farnsworth) this has to be one hell of a bowel movement. <vote poll=blog3314 closed="yes">Economists on the debt ceiling: KILL IT WITH FIRE <vote poll=blog3313 closed="yes">A very short lesson in genetics for creationists <vote poll=blog3312 closed="yes">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/15/israels-brain-drain-crisis/?wpisrc=nl_wv The Jewish brain drain. To Berlin.] No, really. <vote poll=blog3311 closed="yes">American conservatives, Your lack of insight and compassion towards people in need makes you ugly. <vote poll=blog3310 closed="yes">4 Reasons Right-Wing Christians Salivate for the End Times. <vote poll=blog3309 closed="yes">It's probably better that the world eventually gets rid of the "The South is full of illiterate rednecks" stereotype soon, but come on. <vote poll=blog3308 closed="yes">Big Herbal is putting some nasty shit in their supplements. If Big Pharma did this, they'd be in jail. <vote poll=blog3307 closed="yes">Yes, women, it's your fault! <vote poll=blog3306 closed="yes">Snopes sinks to a new low (again) by citing a completely disreputable goat source. <vote poll=blog3305 closed="yes">Conservative correctness at its very worst: History textbooks in Texas rename the slave trade. <vote poll=blog3304 closed="yes">The Koch brothers: "Shit." <vote poll=blog3303 closed="yes">Somebody's going to get a Nobel. The idiots at Viacom have blocked the video, but you can read the answer here. <vote poll=blog3302 closed="yes">The CBC asks Jim Flaherty (Harper's Finance Minister) what he thinks of the fiscal cliff: "Republicans think I'm a lot more conservative than I am." <vote poll=blog3301 closed="yes">Addressing some MRA bull. (See #10 for some studies worthy of debunking.) <vote poll=blog3300 closed="yes">A Protestant pastor and blogger offers his findings as to why Dominionists favor the US government shutdown and impending default. Thanks to -6, they believe that YHWH has made them kings and priests and that it is their duty to bring all the moneys from the treasuries of the world and lay them at YHWH's feet. And one of the most outspoken leaders of this effort? Ted Cruz's father Rafael. <vote poll=blog3299 closed="yes">It seems the UK's drive to austerity was largely full of crap. Related: A Redditor tries to explain to Americans why ending stimulus (ergo debt ceiling) would be a bad idea right now. (Response: Zimbabwe! Greece! Underfunded liabilities!) <vote poll=blog3298 closed="yes">An open letter to the people who really control the US government. <vote poll=blog3297 closed="yes">Inside the head of one of the dumbest Supreme Court judges known to man. <vote poll=blog3296 closed="yes">Proliferation of shitty peer-reviewed journals. Good news for the pseudoskeptics. <vote poll=blog3295 closed="yes">"Washington couldn’t have gone dark without a radicalized Republican Party. Or maybe it was destined to all along." Update: Unbelievble. [http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/10/meanest-things-republicans-have-said-about-conservatives-shutdown/70208/ McCain. Christie. Jindal. Haslan. Burr. Frum. King. Krauthammer.] <vote poll=blog3294 closed="yes">The word "mangina" has suddenly become awesome. <vote poll=blog3293 closed="yes">America: Where imploding the world economy is a mainstream political tool. <vote poll=blog3291 closed="yes">Where America's poor and uninsured live. <vote poll=blog3290 closed="yes">The world is falling: Grover Norquist, yes, the same Norquist who wanted total public spending to go down to less than 10% of GDP, is calling the House Republicans barking mad. Update: And the Wall Street Journal. (Look at the similarities between the wingnuts and movement conservatives.) <vote poll=blog3289 closed="yes">[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-1-2013/march-of-dumbs? The March] of Dumbs. (Is it a gerbil, or a hamster? You Decide!) <vote poll=blog3288 closed="yes">Popular Science decides to shut down its comments section, blaming unhealthy amounts of anti-intellectualism. Guess who's the first to complain. <vote poll=blog3287 closed="yes">Check your irony meters: Immigrants are more likely to identify as "British" than Scots, Welsh, or Englishmen outside London.