MY SKEPTICZ IZ BETTAR THN UR SKEPTICZ!!!1!1

Let's just say I was "out of town" for a while and didn't get the memo. Like most cool kids, I'm always late to parties.


Recently I've been made aware of this weird group of new writers identifying themselves as skeptics who came out in droves basically telling people like me that we're doing it wrong. We need to stop being "mean". One of these writers in particular resorted to trickery and deceit to try and defend and promote the position he and his sock puppets held.


Just because I identify myself as a critical thinker doesn't mean that I'm on a crusade to join a skeptical "movement" that has no clearly defined goals I'm aware of. Yes, we may all agree that Sylvia Browne can not speak to the ethereal egos of dead people. We may even agree that we hope other people will realize this so she and other charlatans are exposed as deluded or even frauds. One way of doing this is to take their claims and present thouroughly researched evidence as to why they are bogus.


But sometimes I just feel like saying that Sylvia Browne is a pus-filled ass boil.


No claim refuted, just good old fashioned disgust for another skidmark on the underwear that is humanity.


That's why claims like this piss me off:

If you really want to counter [woo belief], choose one of the claims [woo] makes, do some research, and write a nice blog entry showing where [they go] wrong and what the evidence says, but do not resort to ad-hominem attacks. We are skeptics and we ought to be better than that.

Since no evidence for the claim is provided, my critical thinking mind leads me to believe this dude just likes the sound of his own voice so he made up a position he likes the sound of, puts a "King of the Skeptics" hat on and proceeds to proclaim this postion as superior to other methods. Or, to put it another way, HIZ SKEPTICZ R BETTAR THN UR SKEPTICZ!!!1!1


What this guy doesn't realize is that sometimes being an asshole is not only fun, but gets one's point across with brevity and (hopefully) wit.


For example, Don is still getting moronic responses to an article he wrote about a particular snake oila year ago. The article and it's pursuant comments have time and again explained not only that science says this snake oil is useless, but that the anecdotes provided by the believers are worthless as evidence. That doesn't stop the idiots from coming out in droves to repeat the same arguments that were debunked a hundred times.


So maybe we can take a different approach: spray on a good thick coat of smart-ass. Even if the original commenter can't see how lame she is, an observer with half a brain can and may be swayed by this method rather than the nicey-nice championed by guys like Skepdude.


My last example may be the most frightening. See, I've been writing blog articles for about five years now which is four and a half years longer than most people. And back in my day, we roasted moronic trolls not only for fun but also to show fence-sitting observers how silly their beliefs were. The most beloved of our pets was Cocksnack. I asked Cocksnack something to the effect of


If there were no god, and therefore no Bible to provide your moral compass, would you start killing people?


His response? Yes, if there were no god and therefore no Bible, he would probably just kill people.


Rather than writing a "nice blog entry" about where he goes wrong, I just told him to hold onto that god belief for dear fucking life.


The point is, bombast is what convinced me. Others making fun of silly beliefs is what made me question my own silly beliefs. Do I want people to start thinking critically? Absolutely. Am I trying to do so in every blog article I post? Absolutely not.


Now quit trying to tell me what to do and how to do it fucktards.

I Don't Care About the Skeptical "Movement"

My blood boils when assholes try to tell me what to do. Over at Tom's place, he's got another douchebag basically saying that "we're doing it wrong".


Sometimes when I write or speak, I do so for entertainment. So if I feel like saying "people who believe in ghosts are tards" or "Jenny McCarthy is a magnanimous twat who knows nothing about medicine", I'm doing it because I feel like saying it, not because I'm trying to convince anyone that I'm right.

Barack Obama is a moron for running his mouth about the AZ immigration bill before reading it.


No, I don't feel like repeating what he said. Yes, I've read the bill. The whole little tiny thing. And yes, he said some asinine, non-factual things about it.


I'm not trying to prove anything; just make a statement. Something that the "skeptics" out there sometimes forget that other people do sometimes.


Nickelback sucks.


No, I'm not going to write a dissertation on why they suck; they just do. Agree with me or flame me.


There is no Bigfeet. Get over it morons.


No, I don't care if I'm hindering your skeptical "movement" by being mean. What's more, I don't give a rat's ass if it helps your movement either.


This is exactly why I had such a long hiatus from blogging the last year or two. This blog is for me to say what's on my mind, not support this new "movement" created by a bunch of pussy-footing pastoral wannabe tyrants.  Maybe I feel like telling the world that Glen Beck is a tool, or that Rebecca Rosen's "powers" are useless even if they are real.  Which, for the record, they are not.


Sylvia Browne is a fat bitch.


I don't think I'll have much trouble getting resounding agreement to that statement.


In the end, I consider myself a skeptic for the simple reason that I do not accept any claim or belief as true without some sort of empirical proof.  Am I wrong for posting my opinion?  I'd like the skeptics and Tru Bleevers out there both to understand one thing:

If someone makes a claim and has no evidence to back it up, I am free to make fun of them until they do so.



Believe that.

Happy Draw Muhammad Day!

In honor of Draw Muhammad Day, I have created a masterpiece. After five minutes using the amazing MS Paint Application, I give you the closest approximation of the visage of the Holy Muhammad Your Rockstar's feeble infidel hand could muster:

I've "picked on" (ie pointed out how silly) Xian beliefs for a long time now, so it's only fair I demonstrate my belief that all forms of magical thinking are ridiculous.

My reasons for participating in Draw Muhammad Day rely only partially on poking fun at Muslims though. See, there's a group of people out there who think that I not only have to accept their right to believe what they want (which I do), but to hold their beliefs in reverence and either threaten to kill me or fly a plane up my ass if I don't. That I will not do. This is my way of saying "take your global theocracy, stick it on an iron rod and fornicate with it".

2% Co Activate!

I know there are a lot of folks out there who share my love of a good 2% Company troll ass-smacking. I just wanted to point out they've made a brief but entertaining return.

Grab some popcorn and enjoy simple-minded donna get mad about the fact that she chose to visit a site where they say "fuck" and "shit".

Marvel at the straw man she sets up by saying

The choice of traditional treatments and/or alternative treatments should be left up to the individual.

as if anyone has stated otherwise. The Two-Percenters sum it up well by letting this idiot know that

Of course it should be left up to the individual, donna. Our site is all about making sure people are allowed to do whatever they want to do (as long as they don't trample on anyone else's right to do the same thing).

[snip]

What we do here is all about helping people to make an informed decision precisely so that they can do whatever they want to do, but armed with the facts. You seem to want them to blindly stumble through life, assuming that choice A is always as valid as choice B, and that just isn't so. This isn't fucking "chocolate or vanilla," here, you pathetic slime.

They also point out that people who hold donna's opinion are sometimes in charge of the healthcare treatment of those who are unable to make that choice, such as children or the elderly. Just one more reason why using that ridiculous, "I have no evidence so I'll try to make you look like a jerk" what's the harm "argument" is so galactically stupid.

Cordiality and Respect

I'd like to paraphrase a few things I've read on the ol' Nternets today.

Since when did "being cordial" require you to listen to someone's bullshit and allow them to continue?

Since when did "being respectful" mean that you can't apply the same scrutiny to said bullshit that you would to other beliefs?

Stupid Thing People Say #9 - I Was Skeptical at First, But Then...

How many times have you wanted to sucker punch the next person who basically tells you that they thought about something critically for a while but one day just decided to leave their brain at home in a jar?

Typically "I was skeptical at first..." is a rhetorical device to make the listener think that the person saying it scrutinized whatever silly belief they profess, only to come out a Tru Bleever™.

Unfortunately, they don't remain skeptical throughout the process and jump straight to some extraordinary conclusion which typically creates more questions than it answers.

I saw one of those terrible spook-u-mentaries on The History Channel today about The Shroud of Turin (Torino for non-xenophobes). One of the "researchers" said he "was skeptical at first" but somehow took that leap of faith that all Tru Bleevers take; disregarding all known and yet to be discovered natural solutions.

If this person had remained skeptical throughout, he'd take confirmation bias and wishful thinking into account. He'd also consider natural explanations such as medieval "photography".

But he wanted to believe. And, much like most of our fellow humans, the desire to Bleeve (accept extraordinary claims sans extraordinary evidence) caused him to skip over the entirety of human history to get to his desired conclusion.

I'm a Bad Atheist/Skeptic/Critical Thinker/Other Label You Made Up

I'm getting tired of all the holier than thou assheads out there telling me I'm not doing it right. Contrary to (what seems to be) popular belief, I represent all skeptics about as well as Wayne Brady represents all black people.

If what anyone writes does not fit your conception of "skeptic", then go somewhere they write articles that do. You can even get together with the rest of the activists and fellate one another while laughing at how dumb that Rockstar guy is.

This was prompted by this nitpicker who said that he understood the author's intent and almost said he agreed with it, but still found need to say he's doing it wrong.

Update 05-12-10:

The guy came back and commented that he was wrong. That takes big man-sized balls, and is exactly what the morons will never do.