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

February 2011
Prof. Henry A. Giroux is all excited about how young people have decided to reject neoliberalism and related repressive regimes, such as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Peoples' State. David Macaray of CounterPunch: As long as those stupid little proles remain benighted in their false consciousness, refusing either to bawl communist slogans or to support social engineering, the rich have nothing to worry about. The Republicans, unbeknownst to themselves, have got a new political program, involving evaporating public goods, ending public education, and outlawing unions. Also, their budget cuts amount to a coup. We need to stop all the demonization that's been happening in politics recently. We can't blame teachers, sick people, students, etc., for all our problems. [http://www.truth-out.org/the-monsters-are-due-maple-street67972 To arms, comrades! Bash the bankers!] Skeptical Humanities looks through a TV station's crank mail after they ran a chemtrails story. A cornucopia of green ink! The McGurk effect A very cool audio illusion thingy. Trade unions fought hard to end piecework. This blogger doesn't make the connection, but she did get a firsthand lesson on the exploitative nature of this practice. American kids today really do face harder economic circumstances than their parents did. (Between 1970 and 2004 -- when adjusted for inflation -- the price of housing increased by about 50% and the cost to earn a bachelor's degree increased by about 30%, while the average weekly income decreased by about 11.2%.) Robert Reich on The Real Republican Strategy An Indiana official, supposedly a deputy attorney general for the state of Indiana, tweeted [http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/23/6115534-indiana-official-tweets-use-live-ammunition-against-protesters 'Use live ammunition' against protesters. Then when called out by a Mother Jones staffer he stated "You're damned right I advocate deadly force."] The Indiana Attorney General's office is investigating, but when asked to comment he stated "For 'context?' Or to silence me? All my comments on twitter & my blog are my own and no one else's. And I can defend them all." Update: He was fired after they found it was him pretty quickly. Can't exercise your second amendment rights on those who disagree with you. Exploring The Sun with Helioviewer Cool ESA and NASA funded toy to play with solar and heliospheric image data. Cory Doctorow on WBC attempting to lure Anonymous into an attack. Some interesting comments that talk about how they make their money. Cracked delivers again: 20 Tacky Religious Products Guaranteed to Anger God. Why the unrest in Wisconsin? "Conservatives really want to change the basis of American life, to make America run according to the conservative moral worldview in all areas of life." Matt Taibbi wants to know why Wall Street crooks aren't in jail. Where is this generation's Pecora Commission or S&L trials? Does cash get results in schools? - Spending, class, results, and comparing like with like. <vote poll=blog1343 closed="yes">The skeptic community is diverse and that's a good thing <vote poll=blog1342 closed="yes">What school "reform" means. <vote poll=blog1341 closed="yes">The Beast's 50 most loathsome Americans of 2010. <vote poll=blog1340 closed="yes">How President Obama's proposed 2011 budget puts him at odds with his own life story. <vote poll=blog1339 closed="yes">Bill O’Reilly’s Tidal Skepticism Launches “You Can’t Explain That” Meme <vote poll=blog1338 closed="yes">What "Original Intent" Would Look Like <vote poll=blog1337 closed="yes">[http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/83367/cpac-nra-safari-club-carnival Throw an Egg at a Climate Scientist! Buy a Hayek T-Shirt! Inside CPAC's Carnival of Right-Wing Wares.] <vote poll=blog1336 closed="yes">Wouldn't it be nice if conservatives shut up about the value of marriage? <vote poll=blog1335 closed="yes">William Fisher: The U.S. engaging in diplomacy instead of acting against foreign dictatorships is an objectionable course of action — except, apparently, in situations when the U.S. is actually ready to take action. <vote poll=blog1334 closed="yes">William Rivers Pitt: War and unrest, not peace, are the true hallmarks of a functioning democracy, since in peace you have the U.S. Presidents from Reagan to Obama, who are all dictators worse than Hosni Mubarak. <vote poll=blog1333 closed="yes">CSM's take on Egypt and US foreign policy <vote poll=blog1332 closed="yes">Courtesy of The Far Left Side: Valentine's Day cards for hard-line fundy Christians. <vote poll=blog1331 closed="yes">Glenn Greenwald: Some Tea Party members break ranks in the House and vote against extension of provisions in the PATRIOT Act. <vote poll=blog1330 closed="yes">New head of the Budget Committee and Randroid Paul Ryan unveils his new budget: Screw everyone but the rich, build more bombs. <vote poll=blog1329 closed="yes">Meeting a Neutrino Skeptic/Denialist. Or should that be "neutrino numpty"? <vote poll=blog1328 closed="yes">Ten things conservatives don't want you to know about Ronald Reagan (and would probably get you banned from CP for adding to his page there.) <vote poll=blog1327 closed="yes">"A Jungian analyst explains the psychology of political polarization <vote poll=blog1326 closed="yes">Pogrom in Cairo! U.S.-backed and U.S.-financed Egyptian military does not fire its U.S-backed and U.S.-financed guns at Mubarak's thugs, come to beat up Egyptian demonstrators; they just sit on their U.S.-backed and U.S.-financed tanks and watch. And lest you forget the most important thing, we'll say it again: They're U.S.-backed and U.S.-financed. <vote poll=blog1325 closed="yes">"Are you smarter than Thomas Jefferson?" Actor/writer Wallace Shawn explains the character trait that sets actors apart from other people; why this trait has made him a socialist; and why all of this makes him more self-aware than -- although not necessarily smarter than -- Thomas Jefferson.  HuffPo mirrors this essay -- with readers' comments -- here. <vote poll=blog1324 closed="yes">Clear thinking: it's not just for science. Skeptical Humanities fights bullshit over in the other building. <vote poll=blog1323 closed="yes">PZ Myers points out that Eric Hovind is offering free DVDs! Ahh, out of stock. But wait, what's this? <vote poll=blog1322 closed="yes">"God put the Moon there", sez Bill O'Reilly. <vote poll=blog1321 closed="yes">Ten reasons Fox News isn't covering the Egypt story. <vote poll=blog1320 closed="yes">No, Betelgeuse will not explode and kill us all in 2012