The Morning After An Eight Year One Night Stand

In the dim light of the bar, it seemed like such a good idea.  Things had been dull, though financially there'd been some improvement.  Time to relax, maybe have a fling.  The stranger sauntered over, holding a longneck, and leaned against the counter, smiled, and said "Hi.  Come here often?"…

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The Naming of Things

I'd like to do a bit here on language.  Primarily on how we have seen it distorted over the last few decades.  According to George Lakoff and Geoff Nunberg, the Right has seized the rhetorical high-ground and driven Liberals into defensive postures by altering or subverting the meanings of certain…

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Palin: Obama is a Communist and he wants to steal your freedom

Palin argues that Obama is trying to steal your freedom by stealing your money. He's essentially a Communist, and he wants to give your money to someone else, like they do in some other countries where people aren't free. Or so the argument goes (Huffington Post interprets Palin's rant similarly).…

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Those “intelligent design” cheerleaders keep coming back

Steve Fuller, who supported the wrong side at the 2005 evolution trial in Dover, Pennsylvania, has now written a book making the entirely discredited argument that intelligent design is "science." Fuller's book ("Dissent over Descent") has been reviewed (actually, savaged) by philosopher Michael Ruse, whose review "A Challenge Standing On…

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Can You Define a Conflict of Interest?

A committee has been selected in Texas to define the science curriculum for the next decade. The 6 man committee consists of 3 reputable scientists, two co-authors of a new Intelligent Design textbook, and one chemistry professor who is known for his Intelligent Design stance. Fair and balanced, right? Oh,…

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