What should we do about Demon Dolls?

What is the xenophobic American religious right up to these days? Once in a while, I tune into the local all-Christian talk radio to try to understand the Christian Right a bit better. I tuned in again tonight on my way home, and I was rewarded with one of those truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stories. It was a real-life Twilight Zone. To better understand what was going on, listen to this 10-second long YouTube and consider what this doll is saying, if anything. If you guessed that the doll was saying "Islam is the light," you win the grand prize. I didn't win the grand prize. I listened to the radio discussion all the way home, compelled on by the insanity. The show included three religious conservative women, all of them very upset with this doll. The doll, which is called "Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll," is made by Mattel and, according to the women on the radio, the doll is an evil attempt to indoctrinate our innocent children to take up the cause of Islam. The women on the radio described this evil doll in many ways (they were quite upset); for instance, this doll is an attempt at "stealth jihad" . . .

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More information is not necessarily better

I thought it was just me. Over the past few months, while reading some of the comments here at DI and at several forums that I frequent, I’ve been noticing that there seems to be LESS consensus on the hot topics of our time rather than more. That doesn’t seem right. With the wealth of information on the internet literally at our fingertips shouldn’t we all be better informed than ever before? Not so, says Clive Thompson in a recent issue of Wired magazine. In fact he has the stats to back it up!

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To avoid conspiracy kook-ery, Obama retakes oath.

After Tuesday's Inaugural oopsie- now obviously Justice Roberts' fault- Obama decided to retake the oath of office. I love the term that Greg Craig used when explaining the redo.  "Abundance of caution".  Read: to keep the conspiracy wingnuts from trying to oust the President on the basis of minutiae. Read:…

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A different point of view regarding the Israeli occupation of Gaza

Do you think that you're getting a neutral perspective of the Israeli occupation of Gaza when you rely on the U.S. media?  Think again.  Ask yourself this simple question: Where can you get a carefully-documented viewpoint that you would have if you were a resident of Gaza? The Media Education…

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