stcynic

There's something particularly amusing when ignorant jerks get their dander up and decide to attack someone else. Our old pal DaveScot has taken a brave leap in the dark, accusing me of being a "hypocrite extraordinaire", and landed, predictably, with a resounding thud. Says our intrepid…

A few days ago I wrote about Volokh's use of the phrase "ACLU Derangement Syndrome" in relation to Clayton Cramer, who had claimed that the ACLU was likely to seek a law banning parents from teaching their children about religion. Volokh correctly called Cramer on the carpet for this, saying that…

Josh Claybourn at In The Agora has written a post about the El Tejon case and I'm going to respond to it here. I used to write for In The Agora, as most of my readers surely know, and I have enormous respect for Josh. He's a really, really smart guy who will undoubtedly show us all great things as…

One of the ridiculous little rituals that has come to surround every Supreme Court nomination these days is the stare decisis dance. Everyone knows what it's really about; it's about abortion and Roe v Wade. No nominee is going to come right out and say that they think Roe should be overturned. Roe…

Last weekend I participated in an interview via email with DarkSyde, a front page contributor at DailyKos. That interview has just been posted, promising to bring a slew of new folks over here (my last link from there led to a quadrupling of my normal daily hits). So for my regular readers, you…

Jacob Sollum has an interesting article at Reason about the different concerns of the Republicans and Democrats when it comes to Judge Alito's track record. First, he points out how the phrase "judicial activism" has now been borrowed by the Democrats, who use it just as absurdly as the Republicans…

Longtime DFTCW reader and Texas BBQ supplier Jeff Hebert has started his own blog. It doesn't look to be too serious at this point, more of a personal blog, but it should be interesting to read. As he put it, the blog will contain "stories of my double life as a nerdy graphic designer by day and…

I reported a few weeks ago that Ford had decided, despite considerable pressure from the religious right, to continue buying ads in gay-oriented publications. Now it seems that pressure has been turned up considerably. The Worldnutdaily has a report full of empty buzzwords and silliness: Leaders of…

A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts. I'm guessing these folks have been watching the Discovery Institute and their constant stream of "ID is not…

As usual, the Discovery Institute is having a little difficulty settling on a coherent position on the El Tejon ID class controversy. Their first response, written by Robert Crowther, is entitled "Darwinists Want To Ban Intelligent Design From Not Just Science Classrooms, But All Classrooms."…

I was gonna fisk the DI's reaction to the El Tejon case, but Mike Dunford already did it quite well. The DI, via Casey Luskin, predictably tries to spin this as proof of us evil "Darwinists" and our intolerance for ID. But at the same time, he admits that this course is not merely teaching about ID…

I was gonna fisk the DI's reaction to the El Tejon case, but Mike Dunford already did it quite well. The DI, via Casey Luskin, predictably tries to spin this as proof of us evil "Darwinists" and our intolerance for ID. But at the same time, he admits that this course is not merely teaching about ID…

Americans United has released the full complaint filed in Federal court in the El Tejon case. I'll be reading it and commenting soon.

We have many media reports today on the El Tejon ID suit. The full press release from Americans United is available on their website. The LA Times has an article about the controversy that includes a couple of interesting tidbits. Of the district's legal advice, it says: At a special meeting of the…

Americans United has released the full complaint filed in Federal court in the El Tejon case. I'll be reading it and commenting soon.

We have many media reports today on the El Tejon ID suit. The full press release from Americans United is available on their website. The LA Times has an article about the controversy that includes a couple of interesting tidbits. Of the district's legal advice, it says: At a special meeting of the…

I just happened to catch this last night. When Sen. Lindsey Graham began his questioning of Alito, he joked about Alito having said he didn't recall something by saying something to the effect of, "We can only hope that if we come before you in court you'll be as gracious in accepting our lack of…

For those who have not gone exploring, I thought you might like to get some idea of what other blogs are part of this project. At this point there are about ten blogs total, but that will likely grow. It starts with a couple of "big boys" in the blogosphere, Chris Mooney and PZ Myers. Mooney is the…

Welcome to the new home of Dispatches from the Culture Wars. I have joined forces with a group of other popular science bloggers under the umbrella of Seed Media Group. As I've previously noted, all content here is still solely my responsibility. I will still write whatever I want about any subject…

Okay folks, moving day has arrived. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this blog is moving to a new location to be part of a project sponsored by Seed Media Group. That project officially rolls out Wednesday morning. To get to the new Dispatches from the Culture Wars, use the following link: http://…

Americans United has filed suit against the El Tajon Unified School District in California over a course there that includes creationism. The twist here is that the school has placed the class in philosophy rather than science and claims to be teaching about both evolution and creationism without…

Americans United has filed suit against the El Tajon Unified School District in California over a course there that includes creationism. The twist here is that the school has placed the class in philosophy rather than science and claims to be teaching about both evolution and creationism without…

Okay, I finally got to see the movie The Aristocats, a documentary about perhaps the most famous - and filthiest - joke ever told. First of all, I picked the wrong day to watch it. I have a terrible cold today and it's not very pleasant to be laughing that hard while coughing up chunks of phlegm…

Okay, I finally got to see the movie The Aristocats, a documentary about perhaps the most famous - and filthiest - joke ever told. First of all, I picked the wrong day to watch it. I have a terrible cold today and it's not very pleasant to be laughing that hard while coughing up chunks of phlegm…

I came across this item on Clayton Cramer's blog and, while I typically disagree with him on political matters, I fully agree with some of what he says here. In discussing the Jack Abramoff scandal, he says: Almost all bribery is related to government regulation of the economy or manipulation of…

New Jersey has just passed two gay rights bills, which the governor is expected to sign. Both apparently allow gay couples to have similar rights to married couples, one in the area of inheritence and the other for making funeral arrangements. It passed the house 67-6 and the senate 39-0. Expect…

Eugene Volokh has an interesting, and quite accurate, post about what he calls "ACLU derangement syndrome". This notion follows on the heels of "Bush derangement syndrome", "Clinton derangement syndrome" and "NRA derangement syndrome. The idea is that some subjects prompt such anger in some people…

Eugene Volokh has an interesting, and quite accurate, post about what he calls "ACLU derangement syndrome". This notion follows on the heels of "Bush derangement syndrome", "Clinton derangement syndrome" and "NRA derangement syndrome. The idea is that some subjects prompt such anger in some people…

Yesterday I highlighted the absurdities of Sen. Cornyn's opening remarks about Judge Alito's nomination. Today I think I'll point the spotlight at Sen. Kennedy on the other side of the aisle. His opening statement (scroll down) was no less ridiculous. Kennedy referred to a study by Cass Sunstein, a…

Yesterday I highlighted the absurdities of Sen. Cornyn's opening remarks about Judge Alito's nomination. Today I think I'll point the spotlight at Sen. Kennedy on the other side of the aisle. His opening statement (scroll down) was no less ridiculous. Kennedy referred to a study by Cass Sunstein, a…