related_results_labels_thumbs({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-09-06T13:16:32.901-04:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Mad Skeptic"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"Straddling the line between ivory tower and blue collar.  \nThe notes, comments, and general ramblings of a Gen-X Scientist and Skeptic."},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/posts/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/-/website?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026max-results\u003d6"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/search/label/website"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/-/website/-/website?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026start-index\u003d7\u0026max-results\u003d6"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"18"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"6"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-2521783559383577169"},"published":{"$t":"2010-07-28T23:04:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-28T23:08:42.773-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"internet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"media"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Matt Drudge and the Right's Utilization of Terror Management Theory"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003eThe right is up to it again. \u0026nbsp;Tonight, after hearing the good news about the ruling against the Arizona immigration law (which is good for two primary reason:1) it's maintaining the sanctity of the Constitution and 2) limitations on the police-state mentality towards \"others\" is being restrained) I decided to see how Matt Drudge was going to portray this historic ruling.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWouldn't you know it, he threw up a picture of someone holding an American flag with the stars replaced by a\u0026nbsp;swastika. \u0026nbsp;Good to see you're as unbiased as ever Drudge....\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, in reading the links on the rest of the page, I realize the majority were anxiety provoking or just plain-old fear mongering and this got me thinking about \u003ca href\u003d\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_management_theory\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003eTerror Management Theory\u003c/a\u003e. \u0026nbsp;Basically, it states that we behave in certain ways when we are reminded of our mortality. \u0026nbsp;\u003ca href\u003d\"http://doubtreligion.blogspot.com/2009/09/episode-51-dont-fear-reaper.html\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003eReasonable Doubts did an excellent podcast on this topic\u003c/a\u003e. \u0026nbsp;If one is presented with scary stories which contradict your world view you are, in a way, reminded of your own mortality -- or at least your lack of control and that might mean you'll up on the dead end of the stick. \u0026nbsp;This then elicits an emotional response. \u0026nbsp;The United States government -- especially under George W Bush -- has utilized this theory in a way that got us all kinds of great stuff. \u0026nbsp;Just think of the Patriot Act and how that was steam-rolled through Congress. \u0026nbsp;We are still living with that diabolical legislation because of fear. \u0026nbsp;Our fear and the fear of the members of Congress. \u0026nbsp;Bush, Cheney, and their lackies absolutely knew what they were doing with that legislation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeorge Orwell certainly understood the premise behind Terror Management Theory even if the theory wouldn't be developed until well after his death. \u0026nbsp;One only needs to read \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452284236?ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;tag\u003dthemadskeptic-20\u0026amp;linkCode\u003das2\u0026amp;camp\u003d1789\u0026amp;creative\u003d390957\u0026amp;creativeASIN\u003d0452284236\"\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src\u003d\"http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t\u003dthemadskeptic-20\u0026amp;l\u003das2\u0026amp;o\u003d1\u0026amp;a\u003d0452284236\" border\u003d\"0\" alt\u003d\"\" width\u003d\"1\" height\u003d\"1\" /\u003e\u0026nbsp;and the constant fear placed in people's faces each day as Oceania battles both Eurasia and Eastasia and society's constant worry over spies and those who committed \"thought crime\". \u0026nbsp;Micheal Moore (who may know of Terror Management Theory) illustrated Bush and Cheney's usage of fear after 9/11 in his movie \"\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005JNEI?ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;tag\u003dthemadskeptic-20\u0026amp;linkCode\u003das2\u0026amp;camp\u003d1789\u0026amp;creative\u003d390957\u0026amp;creativeASIN\u003dB00005JNEI\"\u003eFahrenheit 9/11\u003c/a\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src\u003d\"http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t\u003dthemadskeptic-20\u0026amp;l\u003das2\u0026amp;o\u003d1\u0026amp;a\u003dB00005JNEI\" border\u003d\"0\" alt\u003d\"\" width\u003d\"1\" height\u003d\"1\" /\u003e\".\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith this knowledge in hand, I decided to analyze Drudge's page this evening. \u0026nbsp;The following graphic illustrates my examination:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/TFDnrtwwTLI/AAAAAAAACvE/AjHanJdkuag/drudgefear.png\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/TFDnrtwwTLI/AAAAAAAACvE/AjHanJdkuag/drudgefear.png\" alt\u003d\"\" width\u003d\"800\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003eAs the legend indicates, red represents a scary story or what I consider would be scary to Drudge's base readership (ie Conservatives, etc.), blue represents media stories -- which is what Drudge, ostensibly, intended to originally cover, and green represents general interest stories. \u0026nbsp;There are a couple of stories which are not colored. \u0026nbsp;This lack of coloration is because I didn't know which way to label them or because they could be interpreted on more than one level. \u0026nbsp;Additionally, one story is purple because it is a scary media story. \u0026nbsp;Although a couple pictures were labeled, I did not consider them when I counted things up.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003eHere's the analysis:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003eOn Drudge's page this evening, he had links to 59 stories (excluding the video link because I viewed it as part and parcel of the Kagan story). \u0026nbsp;Of those 59 stories, 35 or approximately 59% are scary stories. \u0026nbsp;Eleven or about 20% are media stories. \u0026nbsp;There are 7 or approximately 12% general interest stories. \u0026nbsp;The remaining 6 stories represent about 10% of the total. \u0026nbsp;I should point out that I counted my purple story twice -- once for the scary category and once for the media category.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003eWhat does this say about Drudge? What can you say beyond that he is a fear monger when more than half of his page is about fear. \u0026nbsp;Could be one of two things as far as I see. \u0026nbsp;My first inclination is that he is attempting to utilize Terror Management Theory on the behalf of his Conservative political agenda. \u0026nbsp;Breitbart has been using it. \u0026nbsp;Bush or Cheney (who ever was really running the show) adeptly used it. \u0026nbsp;Could he be trying to cement the Conservative base and make sure no ideological weaknesses develop? \u0026nbsp;Possibly. \u0026nbsp;My second thought is that Matt Drudge is a scared man. \u0026nbsp;He looks for these stories to feed some kind of a confirmation bias turned profitable web portal. \u0026nbsp;Is he frightened, proverbially cowering in some corner somewhere? \u0026nbsp;He certainly isn't a terribly public person and while that does nothing to suggest he's afraid of everyone else, it does nothing to disprove it either. \u0026nbsp;My belief is that the truth is both\u0026nbsp;possibilities. \u0026nbsp;While Drudge may not fully understand Terror Management, he is good at manipulating emotions by way of the stories he chooses to link to. \u0026nbsp;In doing so, he helps feed the fear out there about those who are different, about change, about political views contrary to his own. \u0026nbsp;Yes he's scared but he wants us all to be scared as well.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-2521783559383577169?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/2521783559383577169/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d2521783559383577169\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/2521783559383577169"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/2521783559383577169"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2010/07/matt-drudge-and-right-utilization-of.html","title":"Matt Drudge and the Right\u0026#39;s Utilization of Terror Management Theory"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-3492785543992217348"},"published":{"$t":"2010-07-16T19:32:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-16T19:43:15.713-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"pseudoscience"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"cryptozoology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"religion"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Cryptozoological Whine for Cash.  Good Intentions In, Garbage Out"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBreaking news!  Cryptomundo is going to shut down if they don't raise enough money to cover costs!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSound familiar?  You bet, Cryptomundo just finished a fund-raising drive which was innagurated by the site's owner, Craig Woolheater, threatening to shut the site down unless he received adequate donations.  He whined about loosing money and the usual garbage the woo-woos and loons put up in a disgusting display of self-pity to try to raise money and sympathy.  Let's send some alms to the noble idiot!\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, I would have linked to the original posting but, true to Cryptomundo form, the post was deleted before I could archive it.  Honestly, I didn't think I would write anything about it at first so I dun goof'd.  Instead, I present you with the provided screen grab of my Google Reader account to prove the post really went up.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src\u003d\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/TEDpTDva1qI/AAAAAAAACs8/hkaJKyUncjU/s912/4c40df57b2585.png\" alt\u003d\"\" width\u003d\"912\" height\u003d\"188\" /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn case you were actually concerned about this one-stop shop for censorship and pseudo-science, they did get enough \u003cspan style\u003d\"text-decoration: line-through;\"\u003esuckers\u003c/span\u003e donors to send in enough money to keep the site up.\u003ca class\u003d\"sdendnoteanc\" name\u003d\"sdendnote1anc\" href\u003d\"#sdendnote1sym\"\u003e\u003csup\u003ei\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Why do we see this tactic so often?  It works in the woo woo crowd -- adding to the \"unsinkable rubber duck\" image. On the plus side, Woolheater did say they were going to shift focus back to cryptozoology!  Good thing because they were almost exclusively publishing SEO posts about monster movies instead of cryptids or even the occasional real zoological story.  I could hear the death rattle....\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo far the stories have seemed to remain on the cryptid-side of things but it's only been a day since the \u003cem\u003eGreat Cryptomundo Panic of 2010\u003csup\u003etm\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/em\u003e.  It will be interesting to see where they take this tired old topic which leads me to the second half of this post:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGood Intentions In, Garbage out.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the donors were giving their money to Woolheater, his star writer and all around \u003ca href\u003d\"https://idoubtit.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/hello-my-eyes-are-up-here/\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003ecreep and loon, Loren Coleman\u003c/a\u003e, published a credulous post about 36 foot tall humans in antiquity using a graphic from a creationist website (say hello to Geocities formating folks!).\u003ca class\u003d\"sdendnoteanc\" name\u003d\"sdendnote2anc\" href\u003d\"#sdendnote2sym\"\u003e\u003csup\u003eii\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/a\u003e As someone rightfully pointed out on Cryptomundo, dinosaur, mammoth, and giant sloth bones were often thought to have originated from giants.  The science of Paleontology put that ancient belief in the grave.  Having said that, we now have a better than average link between cryptozoology and creationism.  Peruse the \u003ca rel\u003d\"nofollow\" href\u003d\"http://www.omniology.com/OMNIOLOGY-Content.html\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003eMt. Blanco Institute of Omniology\u003c/a\u003e site and see just what kind of crazies Cryptomundo has tapped into. Of course, Coleman's response to this observation would be something along the lines of he was trying to inspire discussion; which he did -- just not about giants.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI honestly don't know if Coleman or Woolheater are creationists themselves or if the post is some sort of advertisement paid for by the Mt. Blanco Institute of Omniology (probably could have been cheap seeing how Cryptomundo was about to go belly up). Either way, I don't find it at all\u0026nbsp;surprising\u0026nbsp;to find creationist material on a cryptozoology site. \u0026nbsp;Regardless of what the case may be, I have to wonder if either of them actually vet ANY of the information they dig up.\u003c/p\u003e\u003chr /\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"sdendnote\"\u003e\u003ca class\u003d\"sdendnotesym\" name\u003d\"sdendnote1sym\" href\u003d\"#sdendnote1anc\"\u003ei\u003c/a\u003eWoolheater, \tCraig. The Readers Breathe New Life Into Cryptomundo. Cryptomundo. \t2010-07-16. \tURL:http://www.cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/cryptomundo-anew/. \tAccessed: 2010-07-16. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.webcitation.org/5rH96T6FC\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e(Archived by WebCite\u0026reg; at \thttp://www.webcitation.org/5rH96T6FC)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"sdendnote2\"\u003e\u003cp class\u003d\"sdendnote\"\u003e\u003ca class\u003d\"sdendnotesym\" name\u003d\"sdendnote2sym\" href\u003d\"#sdendnote2anc\"\u003eii\u003c/a\u003eColeman, \tLoren. Where Are The Bones? Any Giants In Those Days?. Cryptomundo. \t2010-07-16. URL:http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/bones/. \tAccessed: 2010-07-16. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.webcitation.org/5rH8bzzEI\" target\u003d\"_blank\"\u003e(Archived by WebCite\u0026reg; at \thttp://www.webcitation.org/5rH8bzzEI)\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-3492785543992217348?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/3492785543992217348/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d3492785543992217348\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/3492785543992217348"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/3492785543992217348"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2010/07/cryptozoological-whine-for-cash-good.html","title":"Cryptozoological Whine for Cash.  Good Intentions In, Garbage Out"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/TEDpTDva1qI/AAAAAAAACs8/hkaJKyUncjU/s72-c/4c40df57b2585.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-6417004402898758147"},"published":{"$t":"2010-05-05T23:08:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-05-05T23:08:45.329-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"internet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"media"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Buh Bye Facebook"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d'float: right; width: 300px; height: 307px; ' src\u003d'http://lh4.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/S-IxtuzbFdI/AAAAAAAABSk/anOCDnBEkQc/3254281052_9fb07e6fb9.jpg' alt\u003d''/\u003eI got rid of my Facebook account. Yes, I'll live but this also resulted in the Mad Skeptic page disappearing as well. I know. I know. Hundreds of vestal virgins are marching to slaughter to qualm a nation's despair. Honestly, I doubt it will upset anyone but to those of you pining for the good 'ole days – um, well, I've got nothing for you.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003eSo, why did I get rid of the account? After all, I'd been on the site for a ridiculous amount of time. Back then, you had to have a .edu email account and apply for acceptance. Basically, I had decided that Facebook's ever changing privacy policy was unacceptable. While I did not use my real name on Facebook, my personal data would almost certainly have been accessible through their Open\u003cstrike\u003eGrift\u003c/strike\u003eGraph nonsense. I decided to cut the chord and stop feeding the beast.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003eWhile I had been playing with the idea recently, \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/05/facebook-chat-privacy-security-delete-account/'\u003etoday's data vulnerability in Facebook's chat system\u003c/a\u003e was the straw that broke the camel's back. I do take certain aspects of my personal life seriously and only choose to share certain information with certain people. I have no interest in having some behemoth social network data farming my information to the highest bidder – especially when my daughter (who is a toddler) could come into the mix.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003e\u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-timeline'\u003eFacebook has obviously changed its business model over the years\u003c/a\u003e. When I first joined the site, it was mostly out of curiosity but, at that time, no one had access to my information unless I wanted them to have it (or, at least that's what they claimed). Since then, CEO and co-founder, \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.businessinsider.com/how-mark-zuckerberg-hacked-into-the-harvard-crimson-2010-3'\u003eMark “questionable ethics” Zuckerberg\u003c/a\u003e has seen big dollar signs on every person on Facebook's information. Frankly, the more I learn about the guy, the more and more he looks like a scumbag to me. Now, \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/things-you-need-know-about-facebook'\u003eFacebook owns your information and you have a limited ability to opt out of privacy-eroding practices\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003eIf you are concerned with Facebook's privacy issues, Gizmodo has an excellent post called “\u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://gizmodo.com/5530178/top-ten-reasons-you-should-quit-facebook'\u003eTop Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook\u003c/a\u003e” that is well worth the read. If you are comfortable with giving your personal information away for free, you probably should read the article as well. Facebook is not as benevolent as it wants you to believe. The \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.eff.org/'\u003eEFF\u003c/a\u003e has done a great job chronicling Facebook's attacks on privacy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003eSo I say this to Facebook: “Don't let the door hit ya where the dog should have bit ya.”\u003c/p\u003e\u003chr/\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin-bottom: 0in'\u003ephoto by \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://www.flickr.com/photos/theleetgeeks/'\u003etheleetgeeks\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-6417004402898758147?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/6417004402898758147/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d6417004402898758147\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/6417004402898758147"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/6417004402898758147"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2010/05/buh-bye-facebook.html","title":"Buh Bye Facebook"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-3028412664463455886"},"published":{"$t":"2010-02-14T15:04:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-02-14T15:04:44.341-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"software"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"internet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"media"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"outreach"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Skeptical Software:  Aardvark"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d'http://lh6.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/S3hXSDzZLcI/AAAAAAAABLM/C7sBU0cHwKw/%5BUNSET%5D.jpg?imgmax\u003d800' style\u003d'max-width: 800px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;'/\u003eRecently, I read about \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/13/google-acquires-aardvark-question-and-answer-service-for-50mil/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003eGoogle's acquisition of a service called Aardvark on Download Squad\u003c/a\u003e.  At first, I didn't think anything about the service and thought it might just be a time waster but I was curious so I headed over to the site.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe \u003ca href\u003d'http://vark.com' target\u003d'_blank'\u003eAardvark\u003c/a\u003e site is pretty minimalistic and you can use the site without signing up.  Basically, what it does is crowd source information based upon networks of people.  If you have a question, Aardvark will send that question to your friends via IM, email, or an iPhone app and they can answer it.  If no one in your friends network has an answer, the question can go out to a larger network.  My first question took about a minute to get a reply so the service is pretty quick.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAt any rate, I decided to give it a try and signed up and I've already answered a couple of questions.  When I was working on my profile, I realized there were a number of categories in which you can mark yourself as being familiar and some of these categories included alternative science (pseudoscience to the real word) and alternative medicine (or quackery).  Naturally, I signed up.  There are also categories for cryptozoology and things like Atheism.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eSo I would like to encourage any fellow Skeptics out there who are so inclined to sign up and start sending some reason out to an audience eager for an answer.  If you want, you can become a part of my network at \u003cspan class\u003d'italic'\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://vark.com/s/q2hG'\u003ehttp://vark.com/s/q2hG\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.  Aardvark also integrates with Facebook and most of the major email provider (Yahoo, etc.)\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003csmall\u003ephoto by \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.flickr.com/photos/montage_man/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003e@joefoodie\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-3028412664463455886?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/3028412664463455886/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d3028412664463455886\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/3028412664463455886"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/3028412664463455886"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2010/02/skeptical-software-aardvark.html","title":"Skeptical Software:  Aardvark"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-4709604614616116603"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-23T15:35:00.003-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-10-23T15:54:55.512-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"software"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"internet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"religion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"government"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"media"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"politics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"McCain's Pizza Act of 2009"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'\u003e\u003ch1 style\u003d'font-size: 18px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: monospace;'\u003eSENATOR McCAIN INTRODUCES “THE PIZZERIA FREEDOM ACT OF 2009”\u003c/h1\u003e       \u003ch4 style\u003d'margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: monospace;'\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d'http://lh6.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/SuIBft0hMzI/AAAAAAAABGg/H5hzAqLFvzw/3161037311_992f5286bf.jpg' style\u003d'max-width: 800px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;'/\u003eOctober 22, 2009\u003c/h4\u003e  \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington, D.C.\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c/i\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003e– \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003eU.S. Senator John McCain today introduced legislation that would prohibit the Department of Health from enacting rules that would regulate pizzerias.  \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan lang\u003d'EN' style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003eThe Department will meet today to determine whether the historically open sanitation and free flow of pizza home delivery should be subject to onerous federal regulation.  Specifically, the Department will seek to impose “health safety” rules that would reign in the restaurant management practices of all pizza providers, including frozen pizza companies.  \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-size: 14pt;'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003e \u003c/font\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-size: 14pt;'\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003eThis government takeover of pizzerias will stifle innovation, in turn slowing our economic turnaround and further depressing an already anemic job market.  Outside of health care, the fast food industry is the nation’s fastest growing job market.  Innovation and job growth in this sector of our economy is the key to America’s future prosperity.  In 2008, while most industries were slashing jobs in the worst economy in nearly 30 years, pizzerias actually added over 77,000 paying jobs.  Just this month, Pizza Hut and Dominos both released positive earnings reports.\u003c/font\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003e \u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003eThe frozen pizza industry exploded over the past twenty years due to limited government regulation.  Frozen pizza makers invested $100 billion in infrastructure and development over the past three years which has led to faster cook times, more varieties in the marketplace and lower prices compared to any other country.  Meanwhile, traditional pizzerias and restaurants have become a slow dying breed as they are mired in state and Federal regulations, sanitary requirements and limitations on rat feces.  \u003c/font\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003e \u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: monospace;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman' style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003e“Today I’m pleased to introduce ‘The Pizzeria Freedom Act of 2009’\u003cspan lang\u003d'EN' style\u003d'color: red;'\u003e \u003c/span\u003ethat will free \u003c/font\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003epizzerias \u003c/font\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman' style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003efrom government control and regulation,” said Senator John McCain.  “It will allow for continued innovation that will in turn create more paying jobs for the millions of Americans who are out of work or seeking new employment,” McCain continued.  “Keeping pizzerias free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy.\u003c/font\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003chr size\u003d'2' width\u003d'50%' align\u003d'center'/\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003eOk. Ok.  It's not the original but I decided to mash it up based upon \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/09/newmark.internet/index.html' target\u003d'_blank' style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003ewhat Craig Newmark stated on CNN.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003e.  Based upon McCain's arguments in his \u003ca target\u003d'_blank' href\u003d'http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction\u003dPressOffice.PressReleases\u0026amp;ContentRecord_id\u003d7ccc25b5-9d63-321c-0238-805ed7bafc6b%5C'\u003eactual statement\u003c/a\u003e, he must opine for the days of the Ma Bell monopoly.  I originally debated altering his press release related to the housing anti-discrimination laws because I think they are more apropos but I ended going with the pizzas instead.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: arial;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: arial;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003eI highly doubt he will be able to get this bill anywhere.  The point worth noting is he is firmly behind big business here.  I would agree there are \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/net-neutrality-fcc-perils-and-promise' target\u003d'_blank'\u003eserious problems with the ancillary regulation issue under which the FCC is functioning\u003c/a\u003e.  Having said that, though, I believe net neutrality needs to be legislated in some fashion.  We saw just how good self-regulation recently did with hedge funds and all those volatile assets.  Our economy is booming!  It's never been better!  We've seen how effective it was in the past in protecting the environment and we all know just how good it is in ensuring \u003ca href\u003d'http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8303126.stm' target\u003d'_blank'\u003eonly quality hypnotherapist quacks can practice their nonsense\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: arial;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: arial;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3'\u003eTruth of the matter is this -- since before Teddy Roosevelt, big business has always complained that any disruption to their way of doing things would ruin life for all of us in one way or another.  Why did they make those claims?  Simple.  They saw regulation as an interruption in their revenue stream.  I'm not against companies making huge amounts of money but I am against them holding us captive in their network and demanding that we pay top dollar for their censored content.  Many of these companies now hold regional monopolies or duopolies and they are afraid of innovation and competitive pressures.  Already, their cable television income has certainly felt the heat of online providers such as Netflix and the P2P world of bittorrent.  Under legislation such has McCain's, ISPs could conceivably ban any traffic from Netflix on their network unless Netflix paid them a ton of money or the customer paid extra to get to the service -- only to pay Netflix again for their service.  Either way, the customer would pay more and end up loosing content, choice, and freedom.\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt; font-family: arial;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman'\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003eIf McCain really wants to keep the Internet running as well as it can, he needs to take off his myopic-big-business-ass-kissing glasses and see how what he suggests would influence things in the worst case scenario -- the one in which all content online is provided by the ISP and no one else unless th ISP gets paid big bucks.  As we have seen in the past time and time again, the worst case often pops its head up and everyone gets fucked over.  Count on it.  There has to be checks and balances.  The last thing this country needs is Time Warner, Comcast or other ISPs filtering content like some mini-Chinese (\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China' target\u003d'_blank' style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003ethe great firewall of China\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003e) fiefdoms.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman'\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'/\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d'margin: 0in 0in 0pt;' class\u003d'MsoNormal'\u003e\u003cfont size\u003d'3' face\u003d'Times New Roman'\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: arial;'\u003e\u003csmall style\u003d'font-style: italic;'\u003eImage by: \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.flickr.com/photos/danagraves/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003edanagraves\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/font\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-4709604614616116603?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/4709604614616116603/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d4709604614616116603\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/4709604614616116603"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/4709604614616116603"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2009/10/mccain-pizza-act-of-2009.html","title":"McCain\u0026#39;s Pizza Act of 2009"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977309212311534399.post-7773848126831377617"},"published":{"$t":"2009-10-21T10:54:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-10-21T11:04:59.006-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"website"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"internet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"religion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"media"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Twitter's No God Fail Whale Fail"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d'http://lh5.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/St8cvOidKVI/AAAAAAAABFc/THhE8LcoaC0/Twitter%20-%20Over%20capacity_nogod.png' style\u003d'max-width: 800px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; width: 500px; height: 362px;'/\u003eYesterday (Tuesday, October 20, 2009), I had the most fun I have ever had on Twitter.  Due to coincidence and what appears to have a been a deliberate attempt to start a tweet-meme, the phrase \"no god\" became the top trending topic.  No doubt this caused much consternation in the Christian camp.  Interestingly enough, I didn't see many Jews, Muslims, or other religions pitching in.  Regardless, what resulted was a day of LOLs, discussion, and outright hatred.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eI actually may have gotten into the fray fairly early but I missed the actual beginning.  Thankfully, \u003ca href\u003d'http://attemptsatrationalbehavior.blogspot.com/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003eAttempts at Rational Behavior\u003c/a\u003e followed the shit storm that No God Tuesday became.  Evidently the whole thing started when a self-important douchebag (if you have some 30,000 followers and you don't follow anyone, you should be considered a self-important douchebag or a spammer in my book) who used to be in the rap group RunDMC decided to post some decidedly non-empirical widsom.  \u003ca href\u003d'http://attemptsatrationalbehavior.blogspot.com/2009/10/attention-christians-lesson-in-twitter.html' target\u003d'_blank'\u003e\"\u003cbig\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-family: monospace;'\u003eKnow God. Know Peace. No God. No Peace\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/big\u003e\" is what the former musician now religious spammer called RevRunWisdom posted.\u003c/a\u003e  Due to a coincidence in the algorithm Twitter uses, this phrase or parts of it did not become the top trender when all his followers mindlessly re-tweeted the post.  Instead, \"no god\" became number one.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis is where the LOLs, trolls, and every kind of imaginable internet fun started and neither 4chan nor Anonymous were involved (at least not as a group).  Someone noticed \"no god\" was trending and mentioned it.  Then someone else, and there was a snowball effect.  Based on my conversations, the entire gamut of discourse was run.  Both the \"old\" and the \"new\" atheists were out (personally, I played both cards).  I had people trying to prove to me that modern science was represented in the Bible.  These apologetics failed miserably in there attempts but they were civil and polite.  There was some funny back and forth.  Follow Atheists out there met other Atheists for the first time all the while as \u003ca href\u003d'http://attemptsatrationalbehavior.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-god-inspires-some-good-christian.html' target\u003d'_blank'\u003ethe vast majority of the Christian responses were anger filled\u003c/a\u003e.  Some demonstrated just the \u003ca href\u003d'http://attemptsatrationalbehavior.blogspot.com/2009/10/but-what-do-you-really-think-about-us.html' target\u003d'_blank'\u003elevel of absolute hatred some Christians hold towards Atheists\u003c/a\u003e.  Interestingly enough, I didn't see anything of the sort coming from the Atheist (actually, when I say \"Atheist\" I'm referring to the non-deists who posted that day) camp.  It may have been out there but I personally didn't see anything like that.  While people were questioning or openly mocking religion via the \"no god\" statement or the \"#nogod\" hash tag, there were remarkably few personal attacks.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe fury and Twitter version of anger spewing, spittle-flying rhetoric from the Christians continued to add to the trending topic because, as they kept complaining about the phrase, they kept posting \"no god\" themselves!  What happened then was a series of Twitter fail whales as the service maxed out on capacity as this meme reached critical mass.  Still, it kept on until the evening.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eSuspiciously enough, the trending topic disappeared around 7pm EST.  It appears Twitter did something to kill the \"no god\" trending topic.  What is known is that \u003ca href\u003d'http://attemptsatrationalbehavior.blogspot.com/2009/10/twitter-gives-into-mighty-fundies.html' target\u003d'_blank'\u003ethey combined the \"know god\" topic with the \"no god\" topic\u003c/a\u003e which are, obviously, two different thoughts, topics, or statements.  I'm left to believe the Twitter management is a bunch of \u003ca href\u003d'http://img94.yfrog.com/i/szo.jpg/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003espineless cowards\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eWell, cries of \"censorship\" went on high.  I don't agree with that assessment, however.  The \"no god\" posts are still being posted and you can still search for them so the argument for censorship is fairly thin.  Twitter, though, is changing its rules partway through the game and I call that cheating.  I believe they didn't want the tenderfoot soft-belly deists to see \"no god\" on their trending topics list so they fixed the game.  In my opinion, that was akin to the \"move the goal posts\" maneuver we see all the time in the woo-woo crowd.  But, we have to remember folks, Twitter is out for Twitter's good -- not the individual's good or the concept of free thought.  Twitter exists to, eventually, make its creators filthy rich.  Their aim, therefore, was to squelch this unsightly display of unappealing conversation.  Apparently, they have pulled this tactic in the past.  When the show Supernatural was having its season debut, \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.breakingtweets.com/2009/10/20/twitter-accused-of-censorship-after-no-god-disappears-from-trending-topics/' target\u003d'_blank'\u003ethe hash tag \"#LuciferIsComing\" was similarly buried by Twitter\u003c/a\u003e.  I don't watch the show but I suspect Lucifer is a character in it rather than the equally fictional devil.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eNow I'm certain that the likes of O'Reilly or Beck \u003cimg src\u003d'http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PqiPgKVm1uI/St8cvFkLj1I/AAAAAAAABFg/0WpzeOJUF9Q/_KIKI_LICIOUS_%20killyaself%20-%20Twitter%20Search_1256135171803.png' style\u003d'max-width: 800px; float: right; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;'/\u003eand their brethren of pompous indignant blowhards will probably say this was a moment when the good Christians stood up for themselves against the godless heathens of the internet.  In reality though, it was something else entirely.  The Christians directed an amazing amount of hatred and ignorance and did nothing to demonstrate there is a god or that their religion is in anyway loving.  Instead, we saw the degree of insecurity, denial, cognitive disconnect, and self rationalization which is needed to maintain their beliefs.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eI am very disappointed in Twitter for their cowardly approach to this event.  While they didn't censor people, they did chicken out and they need to be called out on it.  If you want to give the impression you provide a relatively free form of expression, you don't go changing the rules on people like they did.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d'text-align: left;'\u003eAs I write this article, I'm doing research on Twitter and, wouldn't you know it, there's another fail whale!  I wonder if the #censorship hash tag is coming home to roost?  We'll have to see.  Despite what is said in the media, the day was entertaining, eye opening, and threatening at the same time.  I certainly trust Christians less now than I did before No God Tuesday.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4977309212311534399-7773848126831377617?l\u003dwww.themadskeptic.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/feeds/7773848126831377617/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID\u003d4977309212311534399\u0026postID\u003d7773848126831377617\u0026isPopup\u003dtrue","title":"3 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/7773848126831377617"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4977309212311534399/posts/default/7773848126831377617"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://www.themadskeptic.com/2009/10/twitter-no-god-fail-whale-fail.html","title":"Twitter\u0026#39;s No God Fail Whale Fail"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Baron Army"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/07476349695309049940"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"17303909186244852468"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"3"}}]}});