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Bent on gorging ourselves on bleak and bloody visions of our own destruction, pop culture as of late has been zombified. These shambling simulacrums of our own mortality have broken through the boarded-up doors of our hearts and gnawed lovingly on our brains. This resurgence of a classic horror genre is obviously a welcome one, as exemplified by the success of shows like The Walking Dead, and the fact that the CDC used a zombie apocalypse scenario as a PSA for disaster preparedness.

 

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Recently in my History of Pseudoscience class we discussed the hubbub over Bigfoot and DNA. Part of my approach to the course is to stress to students the importance of original source documents such as correspondence, texts, empirical data, diaries and other similar written materials. The scholarly historical enterprise centers on the analysis of original texts. What quickly became apparent to the students in this case is the quirky nature of the written record available. Despite the apparently scientific nature of the debate over DNA evidence and scholarly paper at the heart of it, there is yet, as of this writing, no scholarly paper, no official release of data. This incident is based on social media posts which themselves are for the most part innuendo, unsubstantiated accusations, petulance, bravado, claims and counter claims (including references to Angels and Blueberry bagels), and little else. In other words, they are the sort goldmine of human foibles historians love, and which tell us so much about human behavior and how knowledge is generated as well as the importance of skeptical thinking.  

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We really are counting on your support right now.

Hundreds of dedicated skeptics and science advocates like you have stood with the JREF during our year-end fundraising campaign, the "Season of Reason." And I'm sincerely moved by their generosity — helping to ensure that we will have the resources we need to wage our ongoing battle against the forces of unreason in the coming year. But we're not quite there yet and we need you to join us while there's still time before the deadline.

With hours left to go in 2012, we are still over $30,000 short of our funding goal.

Please make a year-end donation now. Without it we may have to scale back our important work.

And you should know that today's contributions will go twice as far towards meeting our goal thanks to a generous JREF member who is matching donations right now dollar-for-dollar. Please help us take advantage of this wonderful and generous offer for the JREF. Every dollar counts.

I have been fighting the fakers for decades and with your help right now I and my Foundation will continue on far into the future. This is my life's work — won't you join me in it?

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Thank you for supporting skepticism, and for supporting my work and the work of the JREF,

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It was the traditional slow holiday week in news. Not much happened, but there were a few stories that were interesting that you may have missed.

Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, paranormal and general stuff you should be doubtful about from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.

Last week, we linked to a story about how vaccination workers in Pakistan were in danger, with several killed and injured.  This week, they are back on the job.

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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.  

Another blow to the anti-vaccine movement as legislation change forces a name change (Rachael Dunlop) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/another-blow-to-the-anti-vaccine-movement-as-legislation-change-forces-a-name-change/ The Australian Vaccine Network is an anti-vaccine organization. The government revoked their fundraising license and issued a public warning; they sued the government and won, but their short-term victory had unforeseen long-term consequences. The NSW government changed the law to prohibit “a name that is likely to mislead the public” and the AVN was ordered to change its name or be closed down.  

Anti-psychiatry and anti-vaccine activists shamelessly taking advantage of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/nti-psychiatry-and-anti-vaccine/ Natural News claims we need medication control instead of gun control. They demonize mental illness and psychiatry and blame Lanza’s rampage on Big Pharma even though we don’t yet know whether he was on any medication. They are taking advantage of a tragedy to advance their personal agenda.  

  1. Deadline Tomorrow!
  2. The Legacy of the Anti-Psychiatry Movement
  3. Charity Begins At The Pub
  4. People really are hurt