I recently came across a study which tried to place blame for a 2012 Pertussis outbreak on an unvaccinated population. While it is possible that this population was the source of the infection, the study methodology, as is often the case with vaccine studies, was flawed and so the study constitutes little more than fuel for a witch hunt. Normally I just comment on these studies, and provide my analysis for my readers. However, because this study was conducted by members of a government agency, I decided I might as well respond in a more direct fashion by sending the agency an email.« Continue »
Why I am Concerned about the Markets
There is a great deal of excitement in the markets. The S&P 500, DJIA, and Nasdaq continue to break all time highs. But I am very concerned. There are a number of factors which driving the probability of a crash higher. Furthermore, the probability that the crash will be deep is being driven higher as well.« Continue »
Trump: Terminally Ill People Should Get Out and Vote
On Thursday, Donald Trump told terminally ill people that he doesn’t care if they’re dying. Except that he really didn’t. He told them to get out and vote.« Continue »
The “Best” of Jerry Coyne Arguments And Comebacks?
Today I ran across a compilation of arguments and comebacks by Jerry Coyne, the author of “Why Evolution Is True” and “Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible.” I found myself shaking my head at so many of his comments, that I decided to write a full rebuttal, as I often do. This does not cover every point, but it covers most of them. I will also most likely update this page a few times, as I have more discussions on this topic.« Continue »
Fighting God: A Rebuttal
After reading an article on David Silverman, an active member and current President of American Atheists, I decided to pick up a copy of Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World, which is Silverman’s first book. When I started writing this rebuttal, I had only finished two chapters of the book, and wrote the rest as I continued to read through the text. I managed to get about half way. The rest of the book was more or less just a battle plan for militant atheists, so it wasn’t really useful for this essay.« Continue »