RationalWiki:What is going on in the blogosphere?/December 2011

December 2011
Just what can you do with a law degree, in picture form? (Answer: not much.) Here's something for hypersonic flight buffs. Today in bad philosophy: Libertarianism has no real answer for how to raise children. The secret formula for an Oscar-winning movie revealed! Nature throws standards out the window for some quick quack cash. Well, there's one thing to be sure of when Bill Maher comes back on air: every Tim Tebow fan will be ridiculed like never before. Well, dur. New Hampshire is next in line for a Scopes Award. Trying to curb your Internet addiction for the New Year? SOPA might help you with that. Observations of the welfare state in the age of austerity: Sweden tops the OECD in percentage of workers in the public sector, while being the most fiscally responsible member of the EU. What the hell are they drinking up there? [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/eric-reguly/as-we-bid-adieu-to-the-year-of-the-crisis-summit/article2283374/page1/ “An Irishman, a Portuguese, a Greek and a German walk into a bar. Who picks up the tab?"] Lemony Snicket's 13 Observations About Occupy Wall Street. Andrew Brown at the Guardian: a comparative historical assessment of Kim Jong Il's miracles. Robert Foster and Rap News #Occupy2012. Featuring Terence McKenna, Noam Chomsky and the 2012 apocalypse.

Ricky Gervais in Twitter battles with fundamentalist Christians. Bonus Fun:  Imagine it's our friend Ken. Ian Plimer goes further 'round the bend. <vote poll=blog1970 closed="yes">Stephen Harper's Tories borrow the wedge strategy in order to sneak the abortion question back onto the front burner in Canada. <vote poll=blog1969 closed="yes">CNN asks: How do you nonbelievers celebrate the pagan festival of Saturnalia?

<vote poll=blog1968 closed="yes">It's now gone to the point that we can suggest that most, if not all, critiques of Michelle Obama's physique are not because "she's fat", but for other, more interesting reasons. <vote poll=blog1967 closed="yes">Who needs Viagra when you've got Mad Honey? <vote poll=blog1966 closed="yes">Cue cries of "A scurrilous attempt to smear the good name of Dr. Paul!" Update: Old video of Paul mentioning newsletters surfaces. Update II: All they're saying is, give the KKK a chance. <vote poll=blog1965 closed="yes">Glenn Greenwald tears into Hitch. <vote poll=blog1964 closed="yes">Tim Minchin was dropped from The Jonathan Ross Show because, well, just listen to the song - and Tim's blog on the subject. <vote poll=blog1963 closed="yes">I bet they didn't see this coming <vote poll=blog1962 closed="yes">Newt Gingrich's letter to Virginia regarding the existence of Santa Claus and claims he said otherwise. <vote poll=blog1961 closed="yes">Atlantic Monthly weighs in on PolitiFact's 2011 "Lie of the Year". (Includes several links to other pundits who are decrying the choice.) <vote poll=blog1960 closed="yes">Too...many....Charles Darwin puns... <vote poll=blog1959 closed="yes">The 10 Most Ridiculous Right Wing Outrages of 2011

<vote poll=blog1958 closed="yes">20 Ridiculous Things You Didn't Know About the Dea r d Leader <vote poll=blog1957 closed="yes">A Brit tears SOPA a new one. Watch and spread. <vote poll=blog1956 closed="yes">Richard Dawkins on Christopher Hitchens (in a speech now sadly converted into the past tense)

<vote poll=blog1955 closed="yes">PolitiFact Lie of the Year finalists are here and Paul Ryan is looking for good PR. <vote poll=blog1954 closed="yes">Some motivation for a motivational speaker.

<vote poll=blog1953 closed="yes">And alas, we have a new litmus test/drinking game to determine crazification factor: Philip DeFranco asks commenters if the Iraq War was truly worth it. Take a shot each time a person says yes. <vote poll=blog1952 closed="yes">[http://www.collegehumor.com/year-in-funny-2011/ A collection of the best (and worst) memes of 2011. And guess who's #1 on the list?] <vote poll=blog1951 closed="yes">Google posts its 2011 version of Year in Review. <vote poll=blog1950 closed="yes">What to do when politicians engage in WTFery? We quote Barbara Walters. <vote poll=blog1949 closed="yes">"Even though the US economy is slumped in the doldrums, some of the country's shrewdest commentators make a serious case that Obama could be heading for a landslide victory in 2012. How to explain such a turnaround? In the United States, at least, there is one compellingly simple, two-word answer: Fox News." <vote poll=blog1948 closed="yes">But global warming stopped in 1995 1998  2005  2007 ... <vote poll=blog1947 closed="yes">Didn't think an article was needed for Tim Tebow? His name has now become an official word in the English language. Great... <vote poll=blog1946 closed="yes">How to explain gay rights to an idiot. <vote poll=blog1945 closed="yes"> Anti-Vaxxer kook Stephanie Messenger publishes an absolutely disgusting new book for children: "Melanie's Marvellous Measles". <vote poll=blog1944 closed="yes">Chick-fil-A - the fast-food restaurant of choice for the Schlafly's and their ilk. <vote poll=blog1943 closed="yes">Norway might have a 3% unemployment rate, universal health care, high-quality education for all and a happy populace, but they don't have precious butter reserves like we do! Muahahaha! <vote poll=blog1942 closed="yes">Get this woman into government.

<vote poll=blog1941 closed="yes">William Shatner and Carrier Fisher have apparently being doing a bit of Star Trek vs Star Wars recently (of which Star Trek  Wars   obviously the winner) and Roger Ebert calls in George Takei to broker a peace. Yes. This has actually happened. <vote poll=blog1940 closed="yes">More Parry parody ads are popping up. The new subject? Jesus. <vote poll=blog1939 closed="yes">Dirty librulz have (allegedly) legalized bestiality in the army! <vote poll=blog1938 closed="yes">It's that time of year again. Merry War on Christmas! <vote poll=blog1937 closed="yes">An article in Nature commends the army of bloggers and forum users taking bullshit artists in the media to task: [http://bengoldacre.posterous.com/this-last-few-paras-of-this-nature-editorial ''It may seem thankless at times, but the army of online commentators who point out the errors, the inconsistencies and the confounding factors, and from time to time just scream 'bullshit', have the power to hold the press to account. ''] <vote poll=blog1936 closed="yes">Too cheap to shoot a new group photo after one of their anchors quits, the Canadian version of Fox News pulls a "Stalin" and badly photoshops him out of the picture. <vote poll=blog1935 closed="yes">Meme Time: What other unpopular opinions can Rick Perry endorse? <vote poll=blog1934 closed="yes">Naomi Wolf backpedals on her civil war conspiracy theory. <vote poll=blog1933 closed="yes">Don't believe in free will? That doesn't mean you're a mean old determinist. <vote poll=blog1932 closed="yes">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbrI3F7p6-o& Perhaps this is a good time to remember that gay and atheist presidents didn't get us into the war in Iraq, the financial crisis, or turn your mortgage into toilet paper. It took some God-fearing vagina-penetrators to pull that off.] <vote poll=blog1931 closed="yes">Ever wondered who takes all those photographs you see in newspapers? Ever wonder if the newspapers actually pay for them? Quite often, not. <vote poll=blog1930 closed="yes">Subtle (as a brick) gendering and racialising in job adverts. <vote poll=blog1929 closed="yes">Inside OWS. <vote poll=blog1928 closed="yes">The Onion: Renewable Energy Source Encoded in Charlie Sheen's Rants <vote poll=blog1927 closed="yes">I repeat. [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-december-6-2011/da-best-debate-guy-ever?xrs=synd_facebook December. 27.] <vote poll=blog1926 closed="yes">Want to donate something unique this year? How about this particularly special creature? <vote poll=blog1925 closed="yes">Siri might not find nearby abortion clinics, but help you out with committing suicide? Eh, okay. <vote poll=blog1924 closed="yes">The Stewart/Colbert team say their final goodbyes to Herman Cain. Gotta catch 'em all! <vote poll=blog1923 closed="yes">Peter Thieberger of Brookhaven National Laboratory delivers the comprehensive and conclusive smackdown of Andrea Rossi and the E-Cat "cold fusion" device. <vote poll=blog1922 closed="yes">The 2012 Presidental Candidates explained as Dungeons and Dragons character sheets. (Not directly a sequel to the 2008 Presidential Campaign as as game of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, but in the same spirit. GAZEBO!!!!!) <vote poll=blog1921 closed="yes">Radio host Jamila Bey discusses the rise of black Atheism in America <vote poll=blog1920 closed="yes">These are your neurotransmitters on drugs! <vote poll=blog1919 closed="yes">The Spectator runs a piece stating that sea-level rise is a scam - George Monbiot would like to tear them a new one for it.