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@arsskeptica
A change in branding
A change inĀ branding
I havenāt posted here since October forā¦reasons.
Mainly, I wasnāt feeling my own branding. It no longer felt honest.
When I started Ars Skeptica, I wanted it to be thinky. I wanted it to incorporate the best critical thinking I could muster. I wanted it to be more serious than not.
In many respects, I think I failed that mission. Skepticism, in the sense of just plain doubt, I have in spades. Butā¦
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Carson, Carson, Carson. What are you thinking?
Carson, Carson, Carson. What are youĀ thinking?
Please make sense once. Just once.
ICMYI: Mint Press News (9/28/2015) āĀ Ben Carson Considers Religion As Probable Cause For Searches
And if you canāt make sense, would you at least leave our 4th amendment rights alone?
Seriously, the irony is rich with this one.
āāWhat we should be talking about is Islam and the tenets of Islam and where do they come from? They come from Sharia. They come fromā¦
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A belated lesson for Ted Cruz on speaking for the people
A belated lesson for Ted Cruz on speaking for theĀ people
It helps when more people are behind you. Howās the view from under the bus?
ICYMI: Politico 9/28 āĀ Cruz sternly rebuked by GOP
On Monday night, Cruzās colleagues ignored his attempt to disrupt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellās efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood. In an unusual rebuke, even fellow Republicans denied him a āsufficient secondā that would haveā¦
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The two most important commandments vs those who preach intolerance
The two most important commandments vs those who preachĀ intolerance
Iāve recently outed myself as some kind of weird not quite deist/gnostic, read: believer in God, just very differently, so I find it a little peculiar that with all the allegedly Christian ministers and pundits spreading hate and fear, I feel calledĀ Ā to remind people of this:
Matthew 25: 36-40
36 āTeacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?ā 37 And He said to him, āāYou shall love theā¦
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A word to our some of our putatively Christian fellow Americans
A word to our some of our putatively Christian fellowĀ Americans
The Gospels are clear. So are reactionary intentions.
If you think Muslims and the Koran are scary, you should check out the Old Testament sometime. It wouldnāt make someone elseās religion less scary, but it might put things in perspective. Western Judeo-Christian tradition is far older with a much bloodier history.
Kill people who arenāt like us: check. Kill our own for what looks like smallā¦
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Tony Perkins of Family Research Council strikes again
Tony Perkins of Family Research Council strikesĀ again
Bearing false witness is Perkinsā anti-Christian stock in trade
From Raw Story:Ā Tony Perkins: The Constitution protects Christianity but not Islam because itās not just a religion
Judging all Muslims for the violent behavior of the relative few (as a percentage of total population) makes as much sense as judging Christians on the behavior of Anders Breivik, the George Tiller Killer, the violentā¦
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Why can't Ben Carson address the ramifications of his bigotry?
Why canāt Ben Carson address the ramifications of hisĀ bigotry?
Maybe because it would be awkward?
From PolitiFact:Ā Ben Carson: Do any Muslim countries have womenās rights, gay rights or religious freedom?
Spoiler: mostly false, with caveats. Ironically, while busily lambasting nations where a different religion holds the majority and calls the shots, he rather fails in addressing those inequalities and the political extremes evidenced here. (moreā¦)
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Trump: no obligation to decency
Trump: no obligation toĀ decency
Surprise!
From The Guardian:Ā Trump: I was not obligated to correct questioner who called Obama Muslim
On Twitter, the Republican presidential frontrunner said: āAm I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I donāt think so!ā
Letās reframe.
Jackass stands up and, based on zero evidence, driven by lies and disinformation thatā¦
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Hatemongering on the campaign trail: Huckabee edition
Hatemongering on the campaign trail: HuckabeeĀ edition
What part of Christianity is this?
From Raw Story:Ā Mike Huckabee: Obama has no right to ābelieve heās a Christianā after inviting gays to meet pope
Huck and I have one thing in common. Weāre not bashful about telling people how to be better at their faith. I think Iām arguably better at it. Jesus dined with lepers, sinners, and tax collectors, after all, but Huck seems to think the company ofā¦
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Ben Carson: constitutional surgeon
Ben Carson: constitutionalĀ surgeon
This is what a clausectomy looks like
Ben Carson, perhaps the smartest of the GOP pack running for the nomination, and who has a book on the Constitution coming out a) doesnāt believe a Muslim should be president, and b) doesnāt appear to understand the Constitution.
Why is that?
Article VI, paragraph 3 of the Constitution states: āThe Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and theā¦
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Carly Fiorina's lie that wouldn't die
Carly Fiorinaās lie that wouldnātĀ die
Carly either canāt distinguish between evidence or doesnāt know what it is
Last Saturday I posted this on social media with my own comment:
If anyone has the footage she describes, please post. Otherwise, Iāll go with the existing evidence and conclude that this is just another pernicious lie.
(moreā¦)
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Brain food: various & sundry
Brain food: various &Ā sundry
HighlightsĀ from the past week
Six Easy Ways To Tell If That Viral Story Is A Hoax: I Fucking Love Science
The Deep State Hiding in Plain Sight: Moyers & Company
Physicists Plan To Put A Microbe In Two Places At Once: I Fucking Love Science
Scientists create the first digital ātree of lifeā for 2.3 million species: The Christian Science Monitor
Disney To Re-Release Theatrical Cuts Of The Originalā¦
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The week in fluff
The week inĀ fluff
Various social media shenanigans from the past week
A Spotify playlist for your listening pleasure: Wherever the Trail Leads
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Mapping the United Swears of America
Jack Grieve, lecturer in forensic linguistics at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, has created a detailed set of maps of the US showing strong regional patterns of swearingā¦
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Analyzing and evaluating evidence
Analyzing and evaluatingĀ evidence
In aid of my new venture, I needed a concise and accessible summary of how to assess the quality of evidence used in argumentation. Every now and again the Internet actually does grant wishes like some kind of magical knowledge genie. One Davis Oldham at Shoreline Community College in Washington has prepared for English 101 & 102 classes exactly what I was looking for.
Iām sharing that article onā¦
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Let's talk about fidelity and politics, shall we?
Letās talk about fidelity and politics, shallĀ we?
Fidelity, according to Merriam-Webster:
: the quality of being faithful to your husband, wife, or sexual partner
: the quality of being faithful or loyal to a country, organization, etc.
When we put our faith in someone, generally we expect them to be faithful to us. Generally. Of course thereās exceptions, but Iām working with generalities here, so weāll go with that. Where this is the case, itā¦
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Breaking radio silence, but first...a word from our sponsor
Breaking radio silence, but firstā¦a word from ourĀ sponsor
Well, by sponsor, I mean me, your humble author.
As any of my previous readers may have noticed, I havenāt written anything here in quite some time. Thereās some good reasons for that.
I grew weary of my own writing style.
I grew weary of my own attitude.
I grew weary of my subject matter, mainly outrage. As any sane person may have realized by now, anyone looking for outrage on the Internetā¦
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How can we best honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day?
How can we best honor our fallen heroes on MemorialĀ Day?
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