Editorial Bullying in the Carnival of the Skeptics
Dean
The latest Skeptic's Circle is available at Pharyngula. Sadly, Professor Myers allows his politics to interfere with both his objectivity and his decency in the case of Trudy Schuett's article. Schuett was clearly writing in response to a piece in a previous Skeptic's Circle--a piece that was full of straw men and false allegations. She showed clearly and carefully how those claims were false, with references -- and, as a professional working in the field, wrote of her experiences dealing with people who put their politics ahead of peer-reviewed research, responsible social science, or simple human decency.
I guess sometimes people just can't be fair or honest when their beliefs are challenged -- including Professor Myers.
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- Editorial Bullying in the Carnival of the Skeptics
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Every time I've seen a "woman's advocate" on TV they've related some bogus claim. Like the "Women get beaten on Super Bowl Sunday more than any other day" canard.
Further down you'll find this "The hottest topics this time around are quackery, creationism, religion, and pseudoscience." (emphasis added)
In other words, these geniuses have already decided (for the rest of humanity) that they hold the final secrets of the universe, and are completely qualified to genericall term religion on the same level as quackery and pseudoscience.
Hell, I'm agnostic, and even I find that sort of pompous self-importance insulting.
I've used this quote before: "a true skeptic refuses to believe or deny without proof." (H. Beam Piper) When you add to that the fact that the fundamental ideas behind any major religion are not falsifiable, then a true skeptic would not pass judgement on their ultimate truth or falsity, per se. Specific contemporary claims (such as a statue weeping blood) are more addressable.
That's why I stopped subscribing to The Skeptical Inquirer, an otherwise excellent publication. They started veering away from proper topics such as current claims about ESP, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, and alien abuductions to assaults on religion in general; metaphorically and philosophically an entirely different kettle of fish. Apparently (for a modern "skeptic") belief in God marks one as a mindless, credulous fool.
These people aren't skeptics; they're rationalist/materialists disguised as skeptics.
Whew. I feel better now. :)
Oh, wait; maybe they have.