Denialism

Author: Chris

  • The Problems of Political Spam

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    There are many problems with political spam email. Perhaps the most well known one is that Congress, in passing the CAN-SPAM Act, decided to exempt political messages from any forms of legal accountability. And so the only practical limit on political spam is the public’s willingness to shame candidates. Here’s an example worth shaming, sent…

  • Berkeley’s New Monument to Itself [Updated]

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    So, here it is. Titled “Berkeley’s Big People,” it is installed along I-80, so those of you driving north of San Francisco will probably see it, as it is 30 feet tall and visible from a mile away. Given the landscape of “free speech,” it would have been much more appropriate to have erected a…

  • Here Comes the Downturn Denialism

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    We have not played with the Denialists’ Deck of Cards for some time! Let’s pick them up again, because the economic downturn gives all sorts of businesses the opportunity to play the “Bear Market” card. Stephen Power brings it in today’s Wall Street Journal: “We know something needs to be done [to cut emissions], but…

  • [UPDATED] GG Bridge Suicide Net: Nanny State or Smart Intervention? (Or Both?)

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    It seems as though officials have been arguing forever about whether to erect an anti-suicide net along the Golden Gate Bridge. On Friday, the bridge directors voted 14-1 in favor of creating such a net: …the stainless-steel net system, which would be placed 20 feet below the deck, and would collapse around anyone who jumped…

  • The Plant Liberation Front

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    Gautam Naik covers an interesting development in Switzerland. Scientists there must now justify the ethics of genetic research on plants: Dr. Keller recently sought government permission to do a field trial of genetically modified wheat that has been bred to resist a fungus. He first had to debate the finer points of plant dignity with…

  • The Times on Woo: Covering the Basics

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    The Times is running a series of articles today that cover the basics on woo, wooish thought, and one of my favorite subjects, pre-pure-food regulation impure food. Not much new here for Sciencebloggers, but these are good resources to help individuals think through the bogus claims we see so often in the marketing of woo.…

  • I Love the French

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    Why? Well, among other things, for hating billboards. Max Colchester of the Wall Street Journal reports: On Friday, Alex Baret plans to board a train to central Paris, pull out a can of spray paint and deface a billboard, as he has done every last Friday of the month for more than two years. The…

  • The Business of Green

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    I had the opportunity to see Felicity Barringer, the New York Times correspondent, speak on the “The Dangers of Environmental Parables” at University of Wyoming’s Consumer Issues Conference. Barringer argued that simple parables, such as the greed-versus-good stories present in the seminal Silent Spring no longer capture the complex landscape of environmental issues presented today.…

  • Mormons Supporting CA Gay Marriage Ban Big Time

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    Here’s a bit of a surprise. In California, our Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. Opponents quickly arranged a ballot proposition to reverse the ban. Support for the ban has been slipping, from almost 50% earlier in the year, to 42% in July, and now to 38% in the latest Field Poll. Mark Schoofs reports in…

  • Ayurvedics Are Secretly Using Pb®

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    Friends, many of you know the miraculous benefits of Hoofnagle Brand All-Natural Pb®. Well, I am writing to tell you that today I am filing a suit against a wide range of ayurvedic herbal supplements providers for using the active ingredient of Pb® and its sister product, As33® without licensing it from me. The New…