Only question is: how did this not happen sooner?

Camera whore is everywhere

Looks like Fox News is extending its all-star cast to include yet more failed political candidates:

Sarah Palin will soon be a contributor on Fox News Channel, the New York Times reports.

The controversial former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate will not have a regular program of her own on Fox News, unlike 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. But she will appear as a contributor and "host an occasional series that will run on the network from time to time."

Huh. Notice how the ground under your feet is not shattered.

More irresponsible faith-healing parents in court for letting their child die

Anyone with a rational mind has figured out long ago that faith healing is pure bullshit and that those who support such insipid hokum are sure to be both delusional and religious (which one might argue are the same thing, of course). However, the thing about them being pro-nonsense also correlates to them being anti-reason and staunchly opposed to actual, science-based medicine. This is the attitude that turns faith healing into something far worse than a mere byproduct of religion, and into something that’s palpably and notoriously dangerous. Quite simply, faith healing doesn’t heal. It kills from a lack of proper medical care.

Worst of all, is that the majority of the innocent victims who suffer such horrible fates, are children. Religious parents all too often consider their kids to be more akin to their personal possessions rather than individual and separate beings, and therefore do impose upon them whatever nonsense they believe in, regardless of whether it actually works in reality or not. These kids need actual medical help, yet far too often never get it in time, and suffer the ultimate consequences – though not before having suffered through a horrific, slow and painful ordeal before the end.

Sadly, the irresponsible, foolish and terminally deluded parents of these kids never seem to be able to accept accountability for the fact that their bullshit led to their childrens’ death, and worst of all, the law is constantly an obstacle towards incriminating and prosecuting them as they should be, what with those countless bullshit “Religious freedom” clauses and exceptions. As if one’s liberty to choose and exercise their faith of choice ought to be prioritized over people’s lives and well-being, especially children’s.

Here’s just another one of those reports about how faith healing and anti-medicine thinking led to the demise of innocent children. As you can expect, the it doesn’t make this hokum, and the religious kooks who believe in it, look any better than they deserve.

Jeff and Marci Beagley are charged with criminally negligent homicide for failing to provide adequate medical care for their 16-year-old son, Neil, who died in June 2008 of an untreated urinary tract blockage.

The Beagleys are also the grandparents of Ava Worthington, whose 2008 death prompted last year’s high-profile trial of Ava’s parents, Raylene and Carl Brent Worthington. Raylene Worthington, who is the Beagleys’ daughter and Neil’s sister, was acquitted in that case. Her husband was convicted of criminal mistreatment.

Pity America, for they are ruled by religious zombies

If you ever find yourself wondering why nothing of relevance ever seems to get done in Congress, look no further than this excerpt from the Rachel Maddow Show from December 17, 2009 when senators from both sides debated on how to resolve that troublesome Healthcare Reform issue. Democrats were squabbling over the trimmed, truncated and diluted version of what was left of the bill once everything that actually made it worth it had been taken out (public option, Medicare expansion, abortion coverage, etc.), and as for Republicans …

Well, once again, they successfully managed to turn the center of the United States government’s legislative body into little more than a circus act.

How can anyone possibly be that completely devoid of self-awareness? How can they not realize how utterly fucking ridiculous they look, calling to their fictional sky-daddy like that to smite down healthcare reform for them? Even more worrisome: how could sane voters possibly have put these mindless dogmatic morons in office?

(via Pharyngula)

How long would you have before turning into a flesh-muncher?

Wow, now that’s science!

Of course, this all depends on whether or not you actually know when you were bitten … remember to check every nook and cranny. And check for sloughing flesh. That helps.

How long do you have left?

(via Fark)

Only in Britain: Arrested in front of your family for an email you didn’t write, which contained a word that rhymed with another word that some that official thought was vaguely racist

Paul Osmond, the “offensive” eMail’s actual source.

If you think that’s simultaneously the most convoluted and asinine title ever, well, good. Because it fits with this story perfectly. When you think the state of affairs in the U.S. is bad enough, look across the pond and breathe a sigh of relief in knowing how much more ridiculous it could get. Such as when you can be arrested and detained for a non-offense committed by someone else.

A wealthy businessman was arrested at home in front of his wife and young son over an email which council officials deemed ‘offensive’ to gipsies – but which he had not even written.

The email, concerning a planning appeal by a gipsy, included the phrase: ‘It’s the 'do as you likey' attitude that I am against.’

Council staff believed the email was offensive because ‘likey’ rhymes with the derogatory term ‘pikey’.

The 45-year-old IT boss was held in a police cell for four hours until it was established he had nothing to do with the email, which had been sent by one of his then workers, Paul Osmond.

But police had taken his DNA and later confirmed they would be holding it indefinitely.

The businessman, who has asked not to be named, was also fingerprinted in the police investigation estimated to have cost taxpayers up to £12,000.

He said two uniformed officers came to his house on a Sunday afternoon and said he would be handcuffed if he did not accompany them to the police station.

His computer and other internet equipment were also seized.

The email, from a computer at his company, was sent last August to a website at Rother District Council, in East Sussex, on which the public can comment on planning applications.

Hey, Brits? I hear America, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Russia (amongst a few others) are quite lovely this time of year.

You know, if you ever get the desire to get out of a country with such batshit-insanely sensitive officials.

(via Fark)

Finally, a sensible way to protect livestock against wolves

Anyone who knows me knows I’m fiercely against the unneeded massacring of wildlife simply for doing what wild animals do: hunt and kill other animals for food. The use of lethal, and especially ridiculously oppressive, force against wildlife populations such as wolves in order to try and protect livestock is one particularly sharp bone of contention with me. There are always ways to protect domesticated animals from natural predators, other than trying to eliminate the latter simply for following their instincts and natural behaviors.

Now, it seems the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeing sense, as they have begun issuing non-lethal rubber bullets to ranchers in Wyoming in an effort to cut down on the needless slaughter of innocent animals.

JACKSON, Wyo. — Wolf managers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have issued non-lethal rubber bullets to a landowner northeast of Jackson where wolves have been chasing horses.

Wyoming Wolf Recovery Project Leader Mike Jimenez said the landowner was also issued cracker shells, a type of firework that can be fired from a shotgun.

Jimenez said rubber bullets were also issued to a landowner last summer who used one to hit a wolf that had been harassing dogs on private property near Jackson. Jimenez said the incidents stopped after the wolf was struck.

He said the rubber bullets have a range of about 50 yards.

These “non-lethal rubber bullets” aren’t just flimsy little pieces of crud that you can just shake off. They pack a serious punch when they hit. (Just ask the Guinea Pig, or the ever-so-appropriately-named Jackass crew.) When you hear “non-lethal”, think: “just less than lethal”. These things will stop wolves in their tracks, no problem, yet without the side-effects of other armaments. Like, you know, death.

I’m very happy with this decision and I hope it gets implemented everywhere. And, most of all, that jackass ranchers don’t late their irrational anger and hatred towards wolves and other predators take the front seat and substitute those “wussy” rubber bullets for lethal alternatives, as likely happens far too often.

(via Fark)

Want pathetic cartoons? Ray Comfort’s cartoonist shall deliver

Once again, I have to wonder how the hell anyone with an IQ this low can have survived through childhood without having died choking on a doorstop or something.

Sadly, this is rather accurate a representation of many Global Warming denialists’ cognitive abilities.

Tell you what: the day people realize the difference between the WEATHER and CLIMATE, I’ll eat my fucking glasses. All $500 worth of ’em.

I’m not too worried.

The Perfect Creationist-vs.-Evolution Debate

I don’t think there’s a single Creationist argument – or tactic – that’s missing, here. See if you can spot any?

This is both brilliant and horrible, in how chillingly accurate it is.

I think we can all understand PZ when he says thus …

And they say atheists have no morals. Isn't it proof enough of my restraint that not once in my life have I ever throttled a creationist?

Amen to that.

(via Pharyngula)

Vox Day: dishonest, stupid, and immoral

As if that was news to anyone. I think I may need to start referring to him as my personal punching-bag by now.

It would seem that Vox has (rightfully) received some boisterous feedback regarding his previous claim about atheists decrying the Ugandan bill that would “ban homosexuality”, a statement that I qualified as simplistic and disingenuous. Speaking of the devil, Vox has now posted a longer expounding of his views on the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, and … well, to put it plainly, you just know it’s gonna be a misery to go through when the very title is something like ‘Gay pederasts and their atheist enablers’. (Note that this used to be ‘Gay pedophiles’ before he changed it.)

You just can’t make this sort of obtuse dumbassery up. The post in question is far too saturated with a cheery combination of equal parts vileness and stupidity for me to post it in full, so here’s the dissection, bit by bit.

I found it difficult to believe that Uganda was on the verge of passing a law that would require the death penalty for merely being homosexual as various atheist sites have been reporting, especially since by all reports it is an extremely popular law. Unsurprisingly, about thirty seconds of research revealed that the critics of the law have played a little fast and loose in their portrayal of it. While homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and has been for more than 100 years, the death penalty attached to the new law is primarily intended to stop the homosexual rape of children and the disabled and passing on the HIV virus.

Okay. I suppose passing a bill aiming to “stop the rape of children and the disabled and passing on the HIV virus” (note I removed “homosexual” as one’s sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with them committing such acts or not) would indeed be an honorable intention. But even if this were the case (more on that in a moment), this particular bill is no way to achieve such ends. Quite simply, it is equal to trying to end the spread of Malaria by criminalizing Africans. Or, trying to get rid of lead-contaminated products by banning Chinese manufactured goods altogether. Not only does it make absolutely no sense in any practical manner, it is supremely unethical and, put mildly, wrong. You don’t ban an entire sexual identity and orientation, and a lifestyle, because of what a very small number of people, who happen to be gay, commit such acts. It’s completely asinine to think this way. Anyone with any shred of common sense would instead focus on banning rape and child molestation in themselves, rather than an entire minority/demographic.

However, that’s not the best part. What is the best part, you ask? Here it is, I answer: Vox is LYING. (Yes, yes, Vox being dishonest is about as Earth-shattering as the Sun being very hot and far away, but read on.) It is FALSE that the bill is aimed specifically at stopping the “homosexual rape of children and the disabled” and at curbing the spread of HIV, or any other disease. First of all, here’s the bill’s own descriptive text (you can read the bill here ^[PDF]):

Inhuman | Aki (portrait, colored)

This entry has been removed from Preliator and can now be found over at Creativitas. (See here for more info.)

Suicide by pure and excessive stupidity

Double Facepalm: for when one facepalm just isn’t enough

Recently, a group of animal rights activists thought it would be a good idea to go to a large motorcycle rally and start screaming obscenities and hurling fake blood at the bikers there, all to “show them [the activists’] outrage at their wanton use of leather in their clothing and motor bike seats”, and to get them to stop.

Three One guesses what happened.

Johnstown, PA (GlossyNews) – Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers “duct taped inside several fast food restaurant dumpsters,” according to police officials.

“Something just went wrong,” said a still visibly shaken organizer of the protest. “Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong.”

You. Don’t. Say.

Not to defend delinquent bikers, and I’m not one who’s in the habit of mocking when bad things happen to people (who aren’t deserving assholes, that is), but …

I think I detect the lovely aroma of a new batch of Darwin Awards coming out of the oven.

(via Fark)

Make some space, Cheney, we have a new U.S. traitor

Rush Limbaugh’s known for toeing the line now and then in his general ignorance and blowhardness, but it seems the odious gasbag decided to screw it with this whole “being reasonable” thing and jumped over the line with a rocket up his ass, all to join Dick Cheney as a second traitor against the United States. How else could you possibly characterize his proclamation that Americans “are at war with [their] own President” and government?

Transcript of the relevant excerpt from Daunting Ideas:

"This President and his party are governing against us. We are at war with our own President, we are at war with our own government. They are the ones standing in the way of the private sector rebounding. They're the ones standing in the way of job creation. Purposely."

Of course, this raises two question. First, one has to wonder who is this “we” that Limbaugh refers to. Of course, the fact that he’s the de facto champion of Faux Newz and teabaggers nationwide means he must be speaking for all groups of simple-minded, ignorant cronies who can’t see a picture of Obama without imagining a tiny little (stupid-looking) mustache.

And second: we must now wonder how long before the South (ie. 90% of teabaggers in America) secedes from its own country and declares war using Bibles and Jesus pistols.

And to think, some countries would have him hanged for such speech.

(via @todayspolitics)