Daily Blend: 05/13/13

I’m usually proud of my country, but less so when my government decides to sell out science. ^[pictured] (Doesn’t all research eventually lead to “social or economic gain”?)

So much for the idea that dropping from the blogosphere will remove Jen McCreight from the focus of obsessed slimeballs. How brazenly douchey does one have to be to lecture someone about safety whilst deliberately exposing their location?

It’s sad when a silly screed against “liberals” is too inane to even be worth fisking for the lulz.
(via Right Wing Watch)

And finally, I am reaffirmed in my belief that babies are freaking weird.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: 04/05/13

Joe Rogan

PZ Myers voices my exact thoughts concerning Sam Harris vs. Glenn Greenwald on “New Atheism” and Islamophobia.

Benevolent sexism in a nutshell: Compliments are nice; applying them to stereotype an entire category of people is less so. (See: “Asians are good at math”, “Blacks are good at sports”, etc.)
(via Pharyngula)

Phil Plait (the Bad Astronomer) isn’t happy with all this anti-vaccination, anti-global warming, anti-Constitution bullshit going around.

Today’s proudly bigoted “comedian”: Joe Rogan. ^[pictured] He’s since continued on Twitter, naturally.

And finally: “Give me a napkin quick. There's a turd floating through the air.” “I didn’t do it. It ain’t one of mine.” — actual astronauts aboard Apollo 10.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: 03/13/2013

TJ Kincaid

Heads Up: Later today/tomorrow is when Disqus is slated to force its “upgraded” platform upon users (like me) who still cling to the old, customizable version. Might take a little while for changes to take effect. Stay tuned.

I’m also trying out a new title style for this Daily Blend (rather than the usual long-form date). We’ll see if it sticks. That is all.

Oh, look, it’s another bone-chilling climate study for pseudoscientists and ideologues to deny and lie about!

New Zealand votes to guarantee passage of same-sex marriage. Yay!
(via Joe. My. God.)

Some more gay (in both senses) news: Floundering “ex-gay” group National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) loses tax exempt status, forced to slice their Rentboy budget.
(via Joe. My. God.)

This just in: TJ Kincaid ^[pictured] is still an embarrassment to the atheist community and humanity in general. (Also: Go, Anita Sarkeesian!)
(via @SallyStrange; RT: @jennifurret)

Virginia steps a little further into the 21^st Century by overturning law against “consensual sodomy”. (Wingnut outrage in 3 … 2 …)
(via Joe. My. God.)

And finally, here’s an interactive infographic of global Internet porn habits. (East Europe is amazingly perverted.)
(via Joe. My. God.)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Jon Stewart

A sad reminder that liberals/progressives can be racist idiots, too.

Is there any climate-change-denialist argument (read: lie) that doesn’t invariably boil down to blatantly cherry-picking data?
(via @BadAstronomer)

While reading this breathtaking(ly bizarre and repugnant) homage to North Korea, try to keep in mind that it is not from The Onion.
(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

And finally, Jon Stewart ^[pictured] to take three-month hiatus from The Daily Show (which will be babysat by John Oliver) to direct his first feature film.
(via @ebertchicago)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Headline of the Day: A Toowoomba wedding

Well, a December 2010 headline, anyway, but here you go:

(BuzzFeed)

(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

Daily Blend: Monday, February 18, 2013

Rhonda McGee

Iowa woman ^[pictured] “arrested and charged with intent to manufacture [crystal] meth” after buying cold medicine for her allergies – without even violating legal limits.
(via @radleybalko)

In case you somehow missed it, Phil Plait has breathless coverage of last Friday’s spectacular Russian meteoric fireball, along with a reassurance that no, the Universe is not out to get us lately (any more than usual, that is).

The Heartland Institute: Still a bunch of lyin’ liars about climate change.
(via @BadAstronomer)

And finally, here be morans. (To be fair, the handrail looks like it broke and slid askew rather than got installed that way.)
(via @RichardWiseman; RT: @pzmyers)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Pres. Barack Obama

The blogging vibe has forsaken me today, so here’s a quick link dump for y’all.

President Obama ^[pictured] enacts whistleblower protection law – then adds signing statement that he’ll ignore any protections that prevent him from targeting whistleblowers. You can’t make this shit up.

Creeping Creationism in Colorado.

Meanwhile, the ugly and pseudo-historical Creationist branch of racism contaminates Texas schools.

Oh, look, it’s a new report about the Catholic Church covering up clerical child abuse for Bill Donohue to splutter in denial about.
(via Friendly Atheist)

Today’s argument against banning assault rifles^*: There aren’t that many people being slaughtered by them, and besides, we already tried it once and it really didn’t work, so fuck it, amirite?
(via The Agitator)

Proof that there is an Intelligent Designer, and that it’s totally wasted.
(via @radleybalko)

And finally, random adorable photo time:
(via @EmergencyPuppy)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

* Because the linguistic pedant in me refuses to use the term “assault weapons”.

Headline of the Day: Creepy Craigslist edition

The details only make it better:

(UPROXX)

You’re welcome.

(via @radleybalko)

Worst lede ever?

Dr. George Doodnaught (accused)

Does Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno truly believe that this:

She lost a womb but gained a penis.

The former was being removed surgically — full hysterectomy — while the latter was forcibly shoved into her slack mouth.

… is a good introduction for a story about a doctor who’s being sued for sexually assaulting several patients during surgery?

No particular comment here, other than the mind just boggles.

(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)

Humans destroy yet another creature’s natural habitat

Farewell?

Bow your heads, hold hands and weep, for the age of personal hygiene and grooming has all but brought about the end for one of our most cherished fellow companions on this green Earth:

Pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that have dwelled in human groins since the beginning of history, are disappearing. Doctors say bikini waxing may be the reason.

[…]

“Pubic grooming has led to a severe depletion of crab louse populations,” said Ian F. Burgess, a medical entomologist with Insect Research & Development Ltd. in Cambridge, England. “Add to that other aspects of body hair depilation, and you can see an environmental disaster in the making for this species.”

Of all the worst things that could happen …

(via Joe. My. God.)

Daily Blend: Friday, November 30, 2012

Bill O’Reilly

Awesome: New law demands that all free public schools in England must teach proper Evolutionary Theory or lose government funding.
(via @BadAstronomer)

Today in less-than-good news: New international study shows Antarctic and Greenland ice is melting faster than ever, contributing to rising sea levels. Evidence so damning, even this Fox News talking head has stopped calling global warming a “conspiracy”.
(via @JFitzsimmons7)

And finally, yes, Bill O’Reilly ^[pictured] actually thinks that Christianity is not an “organized church”, but a “philosophy”. I’m not even touching that one.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Today in bizarre (and possibly NSFW) PETA ads

As you watch the following video (preferably with no-one around in order to minimize risks of acute awkwardness), keep in mind that a thinking human being at PETA presumably thought it up, someone else liked it, and they all decided it was a good way to attract favorable publicity:

Transcript: (click the [+/-] to open/close →)

[−]

A number of men are shown moving around with large, phallic-shaped vegetable “genitals” (complete with lettuce pubic hair and round veggies for testes) swinging from their groins. (Fuck PETA for making me write that sentence.)

One would think they could choose a better way to gather people around their dubious mantra that veganism somehow improves sexual stamina than by making anyone who comes into visual contact with their ads reach for the nearest bottle of bleach to cleanse their eyeballs.

(via Joe. My. God.)

Daily Blend: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 – Lazy Halloween

I find myself with both an overabundance of blogging material and a critical lack of drive this evening, so here’re your links for the day.

Federal judge rules that police don’t need a warrant to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property. Comes with the usual *headdesk*-worthy Fourth Amendment distortions.
(via @radleybalko)

A better phrasing: “Three ex-governors resort to predictably and embarrassingly bad arguments to oppose California death-penalty repeal”.
(via @LilianaSegura; RT: @radleybalko)

Headline of the day contender.

Second contender, as well as another item to keep in mind if you ever find the odd soul wondering why no-one takes PETA seriously.
(via Joe. My. God.)

While we’re at it, have this brief, pictorial Frankenstorm retrospective:

NYC shortly after Hurricane Sandy’s passage [source | full size (1024×722)]

Don’t miss this spectacular, gut-wrenching special on Hurricane Sandy’s devastation at the Boston Globe’s Big Picture feature.
(via Joe. My. God.)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Headline of the day: Even the Mail couldn’t dream this up

(Daily Mail)

(via @radleybalko)

Daily Blend: Friday, October 26, 2012

Ann Coulter

The Twitter staff reveals their utter uselessness in dealing with death threats. I understand that they can’t do much with vague statements from random nobodies, but they could at least pretend to give a damn.

Kook vs. kook: You know you’re being a weapons-grade asshole ^[pictured] when Michelle Malkin is right to call you out on it.

I am officially dumbfounded that a campaign as incompetent as to produce this galling travesty of a faked image is actually a possible contender for the White House.

I don’t think these kids are ready to graduate just yet. (Hint.)

And finally, this stalwart bridge will advise you on just how tall your vehicle should be to pass under it:
(via Roger Ebert's Journal)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Headline of the day

(CBC News)

Daily Blend: Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca Watson ^[pictured] writes at Slate about her experience dealing with the ugly sexist underbelly of the atheo-skeptic community.
(via Pharyngula)

Anyone else wondering how long before the Right starts claiming that “Obama doesn’t care about charity!” when the President doesn’t humor Donald Trump’s latest ridiculous stunt?

Another sign of the impending Gaypocalypse: Sharks falling from the skies!
(via @radleybalko)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Headline (and quote) of the day: And this little piggy went bad

Life imitates Hannibal (2001):

(CBC News)

Bonus quote: “For all we know, it was a horrific accident, but it's so doggone weird that we have to look at all possibilities.”

Tags: hogs • pigs • Terry Vance

Daily Blend: Thursday, September 27, 2012

Bryan Fischer

Keith Kloor at Slate explains why those fear-mongering about GMO food aren’t any more credible than climate change denialists.
(via The Agitator)

“Former inmates abruptly freed after spending up to six years in federal prison even though they were "legally innocent" are coming home with less help than the government typically provides the guilty after they are released.”
(via The Agitator)

Bryan Fischer ^[pictured] apparently thinks that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” somehow makes it perfectly legal for servicemembers to rape children.

I already posted a Headline of the Day, so here you go: “Buddhist "Iron Man" Found by Nazis Is from Space”

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Keith Kloor • genetically modified organisms • GMOs • food • wrongful convictions • wrongful imprisonment • Bryan Fischer • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • DADT • child molestation • U.S. Military • homophobia • Scientific American • Buddhism • Nazism • space • Iron Man

Headline of the Day: Oh, Florida

From the same folk who were last heard saying “what could possibly go wrong?”:

(Riptide | Miami New Times)

(via @radleybalko)

Tags: Florida • Miami New Times • alligators