Been away. Very busy. Grading. Job hunt. I apologize. Still really busy. But also feeling guilty.
But you know I’ve been on the prowl for the latest and greatest in conspiracy, right? Because I have some sort of masochistic compulsive disorder!
- When the Republicans depend on unemployment numbers for their election, a jobs report that shows unexpected growth spawns conspiracy theories about Obama manipulating the jobs numbers. Worldview Weekend showed their usual discernment in running with the story. The article they reprint makes the cui bono error, that the person who benefits from X must have caused X. Lots of conspiracy theories are built on that misguided premise. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, tweeted about it, and Newt Gingrich said that it “Rings true,” though David Axelrod says it’s as goofy as birtherism, which is apt because the worthless billionaire Donald Trump thinks it’s true, even though Joseph Stiglitz things it’s “literally absurd.” Speaking of ringing, some Republican ding-dong is thinking about launching an investigation into the jobs numbers, to which the correct reply was a tweet:
@GoAngelo Truth. RT @KuraFire: @emokidsloveme @AriMelber @GoAngelo What a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars.
- Al Jazeera finds American conspiracism baffling, though to be fair, the Muslim world has it’s unsinkable rubber ducks too.
- Vigilant Citizen finds a horror movie scary for all the wrong reasons. This time it’s an occult interpretation of A Cabin in the Woods. And for the 120th week in a row it’s the Illuminati apparently trying to tell us that they exist or something. Fancy that.
- In related news, a conspiracist documentary about The Shining is on its way.
- I think it would be great if the secret hidden in the new $100 bill was that it was worth $200.
- Never do this.
- Doddering old coot Ed Asner makes fool of self on several TV shows over 9/11.
- Are chemtrails hiding Nibiru? And with that I’m going to find something high to jump off of. Sigh.
- David Icke takes scary words out of context and is scared: “FEMA Bill HR6566: Ordering National Preparation for Mass Death.” Anything involving mass death is entirely appropriate for FEMA to prepare for.
- Is a Nigerian singer a member of the Illuminati and part of a scheme to turn Nigeria gay?
- We are being blasted with electromagnetic evil, says Zen Gardner.
- A review of Ancient Aliens Debunked, which I used in class yesterday. The last two sections are unnecessary and undo a lot of credibility in what is an otherwise very useful film.
- “Sideshow” Bob Tuskin is an HIV denier. Jesus.
- Finally, they found one of the FEMA camps. On Google Earth. Not by going and asking. Sigh.
- The Vatican has leaked that a dwarf star threatens Earth!
- The Conspiracy gets a dismal review.
- Gay? In the FBI? Sounds like they are pitching a new crime series.
- Canada is being invaded by splotchy pictures of things in the sky.
- Why, BBC, why?
- Why are heads of state around the world cancelling trips and meetings? Armageddon? Irritating tacked-on baggage handling fees? I’M LOOKING AT YOU, DELTA!
- When you see an article on Above Top Secret that begins, “Look I could be way off base here,” it’s likely that you have just read only reliable statement in the whole piece.
- No, Romney did not have a cheat sheet during the first debate.
- Was Obama the unholy spawn of a Communist poet and a porn star?
- Guy with camcorder offers amnesty to pilots spraying chemtrails, while guy with editing software issues a threat to them.
- Susan Lindauer, who was found unable to assist in her own defense at trial for spying on the US for Iraq, is still taken seriously by We Are Change. When will people stop exploiting her illness?
- There is a lot wrong with this story from London about a mural being defaced.
- GAIS! GAIS! The Chinese have invaded Texas. They can have it.
- The plan is afoot to microchip the entire population says someone who thinks he’s an expert in Bible prophesy but doesn’t realize that it’s all, you know, not real:
- Ah, a new twist on the Bilderberger conspiracy theory. They are building a floating city off of California.
- Ugh. Abe Lincoln was a Marxist war criminal? Really?
- I’d rather not swear, but supreme Truther and mustache pornographer Joseph Farah and his little monkey boy Jerome Corsi are nuttier than extra crunchy squirrel shit. This week, Obama is a secret Muslim because Corsi imagines his ring says, “There is no God but Allah.” There are many ways in which the folks at WorldNetDaily are not quite complete people.
- Was Neil Armstrong threatened to keep secrets about the UFO presence on the Moon? They cite Stephen Greer, who is known to embellish his encounters with people of actual import.
- The Tea Party and Agenda 21, two bad things that go worse together.
- Came across what looks like Judy Wood’s site about the Twin Towers. The book it’s promoting is called Where Did the Towers Go? Down, Judy. The Towers went down.
Twit of the Week:
Jonathan Kay @jonkay
WND is now combining islamophobic paranoia with something resembling Aspergers wnd.com/2012/10/were-o… Ring collage = unintentionally hilarious.
The American Muslim site does a little debunkery of this claim.
Bill Corbett, however, made me laugh:
@BillCorbett
Rabid anti-Semites are gonna have a hard time explaining the bacon shortage.
That’s all. I’m trying to keep up, folks! This week, I am going to be attending the Paradigm Conference on behalf of Skeptical Inquirer. Follow me as live tweet on #paradigm!
Skeptical Humanities 