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

August 2008
The first anti-Palin attack ad, made by a RationalWiki vet & his girlfriend :) click here.  (30 August 2008)  Is the US becoming anti-intellectual? Sarah Palin: the younger, hotter Phyllis Schlafly.   (29 August 2008) The last takedown - for now - of Discovery Institute legal idiocy, and a tangent on the real meaning of falsifiability.   (29 August 2008) PZ Myers highlights a disturbing trend towards religious fundamentalism in the Democratic party as well as potential police misconduct against protesters. After a million negative ads and a thousand flip-flops, does anyone know what John McCain actually stands for?  (24 August 2008) Non-overlapping magisteria in the science classroom - good, or just a dodge of the important issue? Ames thinks it's simply a matter of knowing your audience; PZ disagrees. (23 August 2008) AC Grayling discusses the prospect of an atheist Prime Minister (21 August 2008) The Dep't of Health of Human Services will promulgate a regulation telling doctors that they're justified in refusing to perform abortions, and can't be fired for the same: doctors, apparently, are now supposed to be moral coaches. (21 August 2008) Second in a series of two, against the Discovery Institute's attempts at legal reasoning. This one's embarrassing; damn kid doesn't even read the law before trying to talk about it. (21 August 2008) Merck intentionally conflates science and marketing. (20 August 2008) California doctor's can't refuse fertility care to lesbians. (20 August 2008) Discrimination is not "free speech." At least California understands that. (20 August 2008) The Discovery Institute has decided to start defending its legal position again, and, in a sign of how much they still care about the issue, they've sent their legal intern to the rescue! Unsurprisingly, the guy gets it mostly wrong. Part one of a three-part series. (19 August 2008) Civil religion, its influence on politics, and why McCain's opinion of both is bad news.  (18 August 2008) McCain cheated at Saddleback (PLEASE DIGG THIS STORY) (18 August 2008) <vote poll=blog52 closed="yes">Rumors of Obama's "defeat" at the Saddleback forum have been greatly exaggerated. (self promotion) (18 August 2008) <vote poll=blog51 closed="yes">Saddleback was a set up. (18 August 2008) <vote poll=blog50 closed="yes">McCain's economic policy and seeming inability to understand the problems that afflict modern Americans make him - not Barack Obama - the real "elitist." (Update: Now with link!!!) (self promotion warning) (16 August 2008) <vote poll=blog49 closed="yes">Did you ever want to know what human flesh tastes like? <vote poll=blog48 closed="yes">(Just a little fun) Tremble before the terror of: The Four Horsemen of the Atheist Apocalypse! <vote poll=blog47 closed="yes">A little late, but a review of the law behind California's decision to refuse college credit to "Christian education" classes. (15 August 2008) <vote poll=blog46 closed="yes">How state-sponsored informed consent laws amount to lying to vulnerable women. Oh, on abortion. (14 August 2008) <vote poll=blog45 closed="yes">How Hillary's PUMAs threaten to wreck the Supreme Court. (self promotion, albeit in a new venue, warning!) -- For the uninitiated, "PUMA" stands for "Party Unity My Ass". (12 August 2008) <vote poll=blog44 closed="yes">Panda's Thumb hosts an excellent post discussing ex-Discovery Institute fellow Jerry Schloss, it expands on why he left and the ire it has brought from creationist with a particular focus on his recent review of Expelled. (August, 12th, 2008)

<vote poll=blog42 closed="yes">In depth review of the Schlafly debating fiasco by the one who lived it. Warning: don't click on the links in the post, if you're participating in the boycott. (self promotion) (12 August 2008)

<vote poll=blog40 closed="yes">Those zany creationists are at it again, trying to prove that radioactive decay rates have varied over time. Sadly, they massively fail. (11 August 2008) <vote poll=blog39 closed="yes">PZ Myers stand-ins go after the history of marriage. (11 August 2008) <vote poll=blog38 closed="yes">It's over, Christopher Hitchens is quitting smoking (again) (Vanity Fair, September 2008) <vote poll=blog37 closed="yes">A tribute to DNA and science. (10 August 2008) <vote poll=blog36 closed="yes">Purveyors of scientific/medical woo often chalk their failures up to persecution, and claim kinship with Galileo. Not convincing. (10 August 2008) <vote poll=blog35 closed="yes">Texas has a new mandatory elective: kids, pick up your Bibles and turn to... (self promotion warning) (10 August 2008) <vote poll=blog34 closed="yes">The Discovery Institute has firmly given up trying to appear non-religious. Win. (self promotion) (10 August 2008) <vote poll=blog33 closed="yes">McCain fails the Ohio economy, endangering his chances in a swing state. (self promotion warning) (9 August 2008) <vote poll=blog32 closed="yes">Edwards isn't the only John guilty of infidelity: read about McCain's affair on the liberal blogs (Ames, Jed, Kos, Huffington Post). (9 August 2008) <vote poll=blog31 closed="yes">The Disgrace of the Olympics:...when Ni tried to protect her home, she was hit on head with a brick and dragged to the ground by one of the demolition workers. <vote poll=blog30 closed="yes">Why campaigns go negative, and why Barack Obama can't afford to. Update: McCain continues the race to the bottom. Urge to kill... RISING. (self promotion warning) (8 August 2008) <vote poll=blog29 closed="yes">Get a hyper-conservative chain letter lately? Send them this. (self promotion warning) (5 August 2008) <vote poll=blog28 closed="yes">John McCain: lying and quote mining his way to victory. (self promotion warning) (6 August 2008) <vote poll=blog27 closed="yes">Islam: Not The Religion of Terrorism and Intolerance - Self promotion warning. <vote poll=blog26 closed="yes">Guantanamo Bay sucks. (self promotion warning) (5 August 2008) <vote poll=blog25 closed="yes">Probing the limits of the establishment clause: is a memorial in the style of a Latin cross ever not a religious endorsement? Yes, says one court. (self promotion warning) (4 August 2008) <vote poll=blog24 closed="yes">Schlafly's Letter - blogging round 2 of the Lenski Affair (self-promotion warning) (4 August 2008) <vote poll=blog23 closed="yes">An analysis of Colin Fry's psychic abilities cconcludes that he's probably not psychic (self-promotion warning) .(3 August 2008) <vote poll=blog22 closed="yes">The new McCain ad that calls Obama "The One" seems to sarcastically compare Obama to Moses. But, is it really implying that he is the Antichrist? Some Christians familiar with the teachings of dominionism and the coded language of the Left Behind series believe it is. <vote poll=blog21 closed="yes">Memo to John McCain: In your zeal to smear Barack Obama, try not to smear the child of one of your biggest contributors. <vote poll=blog20 closed="yes">JJ MacNab provides a nice summary of the recent sentencing of two men convicted in helping arm and defend convicted tax protesters who promised to start the next Waco or Ruby Ridge. The truly amazing story of insulting a judge right before he determines how long you are going to spend in prison highlights just how far gone the minds of cranks can degrade. <vote poll=blog19 closed="yes">Promises to avoid negative campaigning be damned! Pessimism sells. At least that's what John McCain's hoping for. How dare you have hope!!! (self promotion warning) (1 August 2008) <vote poll=blog18 closed="yes">PZ Myers is scheduled to debate Ray "Comfort Food" who is famous for his anti-evolution banana fallacy. (1 August 2008)