ACLU apologizes to American Humanist Association

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Michael

The American Humanist Association donated $20,000 for the sake of having a non-discriminatory prom for Constance McMillen. The reason is that the AHA is based upon a concern for humans, not some mythical sky fairy that has nothing to do with humanity other than being a reflection of its lowliest traits. Despite this, they originally received this response.

“Although we support and understand organizations like yours, the majority of Mississippians tremble in terror at the word ‘atheist,’ ” Jennifer Carr, the fund-raiser for the A.C.L.U of Mississippi, wrote in an e-mail message to Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the humanist group.

No shit the word “atheist” has negative connotations. So why compound the problem with a negative feedback loop? It isn’t helpful to discriminate against a discriminated group. The ACLU of all organizations should understand that. And apparently they do (provided enough time).

On behalf of the ACLU of Mississippi, I would like to offer our sincere apologies for the inappropriate e-mail you received from a member of our staff regarding your generous offer to sponsor and donate to a prom for Constance McMillen.

As I believe you’ve heard from the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, MSSC makes the final decision about which sponsorship related offers to accept. It was an error for our staff member to insinuate to you that our organization had that decision-making power.

Furthermore, please understand that the sentiments expressed in the e-mail you received from our staff member do not reflect the views of our organization in any way. The ACLU of Mississippi is a stalwart defender of freedom of belief and expression for all, and we are appreciative of your commitment to protecting those principles, as well.

Nsombi Lambright
Executive Director, ACLU of Mississippi

Filed under: Atheism/Humanism, News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

No one has the right not to be offended

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Michael

Phillip Pullman has a book titled The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. Below is a video where a member of an audience points out that Christians may find that offensive.

Via Jerry Coyne.

Filed under: Religions | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Silly teabaggers

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Michael

There are two reasons I actually love the teabaggers. First, if they decide to run one of their own candidates anywhere, it’s going to Nader the Republican ticket. Second, they make hilarious signs.

Filed under: Humor | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Simon Singh wins

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Michael

Simon Singh is a physicist and author who has been facing legal challenges from a bunch of U.K. chiropractors who sued after he called them out for being quacks. His legal woes at first looked mournful as decisions were going against him, but he has just won his appeal.

Dr Singh questioned the claims of some chiropractors over the treatment of certain childhood conditions.

The High Court had said the words were fact not opinion – meaning Dr Singh could not use the fair comment defence.

However, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger and Lord Justice Sedley ruled High Court judge Mr Justice Eady had “erred in his approach” last May, and allowed Dr Singh’s appeal.

BBC News science correspondent Pallab Ghosh says that, had Justice Eady’s ruling stood, it would have made it difficult for any scientist or science journalist to question claims made by companies or organisations without opening themselves up to a libel action that would be hard to win.

Two things. First, the U.K. has extravagant names for its justices. Second, this is great news for science. It’s an all too common tactic of quacks to threaten lawsuits. Their goal is to quash criticism; they damn well know what they pedal has little to no evidence. To expose that fact is to undermine the whole PR machine that keeps these people in business.

Dr Singh described the ruling as “brilliant”, but added that the action had cost £200,000 “just to define the meaning of a few words”.

Again, the hope of the chiropractors was that this excessive cost associated with these legal matters would result in a settlement. The Guardian, where Singh’s article originally appeared, had even offered to pay to settle. Fortunately, Singh fought for the intergrity of the scientific process and pushed ahead with all the court proceedings. (The Guardian still chose to pay for his legal advice.)

The British Chiropractic Association said it was disappointed to lose the appeal but it was “not the end of the road”.

BCA president Richard Brown said: “We are considering whether to seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and subsequently proceed to trial.

“Our original argument remains that our reputation has been damaged. The BCA brought this claim only to uphold its good name and protect its reputation, honesty and integrity”.

The distinction between chiropractors with real medical training who can actually offer people help and sometimes even effective therapy versus those who are just quacks is becoming increasingly useless because the field has such low standards. I have no idea what Richard Brown is thinking when he actually claims his association has this so-called honesty and integrity. Perhaps it’s fair to say a few individuals are reputable (within particular constraints and boundaries), but as a whole? No. Even if this decision went against Singh (forcing him to defend his comments as fact as opposed to opinion), he would still eventually win. It’s just too implausible to think so many people can honestly think so many things to be true without any evidence.

Oh wait.

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Bill does something right

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

Albert Snyder’s son, Matthew A. Snyder, was a marine who died in Iraq in a non-combat situation. When the family held Matthew’s funeral, they were ‘protested’ by the Westboro Baptist Church, complete with the most distasteful signs possible. This led to a lawsuit against the moronic church. Albert Snyder initially won $10 million (which was then reduced to $5 million). However, that decision was reversed on appeal, with the court citing free speech protections. As a result, Snyder was ordered to pay $16,500 in legal fees to the hatemongers he had sued. He’s going to appeal to the Supreme Court (which will hear the case in the fall), but until then Bill O’Reilly has actually done something decent.

O’Reilly had previously interviewed Snyder about the case, and in Tuesday’s edition of his show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” the cable host announced that he would gladly pay Snyder’s debt. “I am not going to let this injustice stand,” O’Reilly declared. “It’s obvious [the Westboro protesters] were disturbing the peace by disrupting the funeral. They should have been arrested, but our system is so screwed up … that the loons are allowed to run wild.”

I’m glad to see O’Reilly using his money like this. There’s no need to strip Snyder of any more of his humanity.

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

Corrections, corrections

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

In my post about microsatellites and mitochondria there were a few errors. Fortunately, the author of the paper that formed the basis for a large portion of what I wrote also happens to be my professor. I petitioned him for review:

I stated that mtDNA is powerful as a tool for determining relations within a species. It should have read that mtDNA is useful for determining certain evolutionary patterns. There’s little excuse for this mistake.

I said genetic variation as determined by microsatellites is an indicator for population health. This may be true, but it isn’t possible to really be sure. If natural selection is acting upon these points, then populations with more variation may have better fitness.

I stated that populations are managed via arbitrary geographical lines. I actually meant political lines, but it’s unclear if that is true. This depends upon the level of coordination in management and conservation between the U.S. and Canada, and precisely where the borders fall. More on this later. Update: The political lines largely follow the geographical divides. There is some overlap, but it is minor.

I’ve also corrected some minor language here and there, as well as a citation (the paper I used was from 2004, not 2003). All the updates can be reviewed on the original post.

Thanks to Chris for his help.

Filed under: Misc, Science | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Franks, please

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

Suzanne Franks doesn’t even realize the principles behind her caricature ideology. That’s the only reason she would say something like this.

March is women’s history month, but don’t let that circumscribe your fun. You can get together with a posse of your like-minded women friends and mock mansplainers anytime. Now, I know many of you have just recently learned that there even existed a name you could attach to this annoying behavior plaguing your existence. Believe me, I know how important naming experience is – that’s why I have a whole category assigned to the topic. But your joy need not begin and end with just knowing that the craptastic manifestations you’ve been subjected to are (1) not your fault, (2) part of a larger system of patriarchy, and (3) mocked by many, many, many women all over the place.

Feminism is a philosophy of consequence. Intention is largely ignored and emphasis is placed upon the results. For example, non-sexually based images are considered sexist in (caricature) feminism due to that number (2) Franks mentioned – “a larger system of patriarchy”. Let that sink in for a moment. Okay, now review (1), which I made bold. If Franks was consistent at all, she would consider her explanations of where blame lies to be useless. That is, if consequence is what matters, then the fact that caricature feminists are presenting their ‘case’ in a way that seems to fix blame on men should be disconcerting to them. The very thing against which they rail – negative consequences that make people feel guilty, ashamed, bad, etc – is what Franks has promoted.

Filed under: Humor | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

Climatic facts

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

Oh, gee, weird. It turns out Phil Jones’ data wasn’t made up and the world is still warming directly due to human activity.

The House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee said they had seen no evidence to support charges that the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit or its director, Phil Jones, had tampered with data or perverted the peer review process to exaggerate the threat of global warming — two of the most serious criticisms levied against the climatologist and his colleagues.

One [email] that attracted particular media attention was Jones’ reference to a “trick” that could be used to “hide the decline” of temperatures.

“Hide the decline” was not an attempt to conceal data but was scientific shorthand for discarding erroneous data, the committee concluded. Similarly, Jones intended “trick” to mean a neat way of handling evidence, rather than anything underhanded, the inquiry found.

I found this part to be the most frustrating. The term “trick” was explained over and over to people, but with such little success. The reason, of course, is 1) the intense desire conservatives have to allow corporations to pollute more and more and 2) the general hostility conservatives have towards science. Methinks they would be appalled to read an average scientific paper. “What?! They adjusted for sample size difference?! IT’S FAAAAAKE!”

Filed under: News, Science | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Matt Mullenweg

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

Matt Mullenweg is the big honcho around WordPress. When my blog got shut down, I left him a message on his Facebook fan page informing him that he had been had by a stupid, dangerous man. I also cited his own complaints over censorship from several years earlier. I never did get a direct response, but my blog was quickly reinstated.

This left me with a taste of curiosity. Was it just coincidence that I got my site back shortly after sending the big guy a message? I had sent countless emails to “Mark“, so it was plausible that those combined with the big hub–bub across the Interwebblings was what did the trick. But since I never got any response or notification, it was impossible to tell. Until now.

It does look like Mullenweg was the one who fixed everything. Look at February 22 on his fan page. There is one post there praising him for reinstating my blog. But what is not there is what’s more interesting. Notice there is no post from yours truly; there’s no point where I tell Mullenweg that he was had. There should also be two other posts telling him roughly the same thing from two other people. He clearly saw all the posts. This is certainly evidence that he was aware of my situation; this plus the timing of the reinstatement of FTSOS indicates to me that he was the one who fixed the error made by “Mark”.

Even though I appreciate his (silent) corrective action, I find little justification in his sanitizing of comments. Sure, we all get embarrassed from time to time, and criticism is occasionally unpleasant, but leave that sort of hide-your-follies-behind-the-delete-button-stuff to the quacks.

Fortunately, I have a blog where I can expose these minor embarrassments.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Gorilla becomes aware of own mortality

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Michael

Filed under: Humor | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

« Previous Page — Next Page »