Jonah Lehrer writes about a new study of human memory and storytelling, particularly about how unreliable our memories often are, especially after years of recounting the story. Over time, we tend to embellish and borrow details from other stories, resulting in part fact and part fiction — and often even using the memories of others …
Monthly Archive: October 2011
Oct 27 2011
Gingrich’s Confusion on Iraq
ThinkProgress shows how confused Newt Gingrich is on the subject of the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. First he said that Obama was doing the right thing by not leaving a small contingent of troops behind because they would just become convenient targets:
Oct 27 2011
Perry’s Tax Plan — Worse Than Cain’s
Rick Perry released his terribly amusing tax plan in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday and it was greeted even by conservatives with hoot of derision. He’s actually proposing an optional flat tax — people can choose whether to pay a 20% flat tax or work under the current tax structure.
Oct 27 2011
Another Reason to Love the First Amendment
Here’s another disturbing story that should make us thankful for the First Amendment. An Egyptian court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for insulting Islam with his postings on Facebook.
Oct 27 2011
The Return of Robert Bork
My former colleague Dave Weigel notes that Robert Bork has signed up as an adviser to Mitt Romney. And if that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, you haven’t paid much attention to Bork over the years. He also links to this column by Joe Nocero, which argues that the Bork confirmation hearings were …
Oct 27 2011
Romney Flip Flops Yet Again
Hell, he’s reversed his position on every other major issue. Why not the flat tax as well? In 1996, Romney scoffed at the idea and blasted Steve Forbes for advocating one. Now? Why, he positively hearts the idea.
Oct 27 2011
Herman Cain and Numerology
The more we learn about Herman Cain, the weirder the story gets. Not only does he think that the number 45 has some special, magic role in his life — he actually devoted an entire chapter in his campaign book about that number’s transcendent meaning.
Oct 27 2011
Kinchlow Blathers About Church and State
The Worldnutdaily now features weekly columns by Ben Kinchlow, former co-host of the 700 Club. Unsurprisingly, they demonstrate all the ignorance we’ve come to expect from WND columnists. His latest column contains lots of nonsense about separation of church and state. Like, did you know that it’s a communist idea?
Oct 27 2011
Trouble in Monaghan’s Catholic Paradise
The Miami New Times reports on the deep troubles in Tom Monaghan’s Florida version of the Vatican, the town of Ave Maria. He already ran into constitutional problems when he declared that his town would be free of birth control and pornography, now things have gotten even worse.
Oct 27 2011
What’s the Harm in False Beliefs?
If you’re like me, whenever you find yourself criticizing some form of pseudoscience masquerading as reality you will inevitably get someone who says something like, “Oh, what’s the harm in believing in that? Everyone has to believe in something.” What’s the harm has the answer. This site, organized by category, shows the cost in both …
Oct 27 2011
Threatened UMass Student Quite Magnanimous
A reader sends a follow up on the story about the UMass student who was threatened by an officer for videotaping the police breaking up a fight. The police department is investigating the incident and the student, Brendan Brown, is being very cool about it.
Oct 26 2011
Pat Robertson Thinks GOP Too Extreme
You know how far right the Republican presidential candidates have gone? So far that Pat freaking Robertson is telling them they need to come back to reality. Seriously.
Oct 26 2011
Dumb Things Pat Buchanan Says
Talking Points Memo has a list of ten absurd claims made by Pat Buchanan in his new book proclaiming the end of “white America” in the next three decades. And there’s some world-class stupid going on here. To wit:
Oct 26 2011
Fischer Confuses Criticism and Censorship
What is it with wingnuts not understanding that just because someone points out their stupidity and bigotry, that doesn’t mean they’re being persecuted? Bryan Fischer makes this asinine argument yet again when writing about the court ruling that the names of those who signed a petition against marriage equality can’t be withheld:
Oct 26 2011
Bachmann’s Accuracy Problem
Former Bachmann aides have long expressed their frustration with her tendency to go off the cuff when speaking and throw out half-baked claims that are untrue. The LA Times documents several such incidents during the campaign over the last few months.
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