Westboro Baptist Church in decline

Journalist Louis Theroux was given extraordinary access to the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, going to their church and homes in Topeka, Kansas and talking to members of the organization and produced two fascinating documentaries for the BBC. The first appeared in 2007 and was called The Most Hated Family in America and I wrote about it here. The follow-up was in 2011 and was called The Most Hated Family IN CRISIS and I wrote about it here. Those posts also give links to the two documentaries. [Read more…]

This man is a threat to the world order

While some of us are appalled at the trend of US president’s arrogating to themselves increasing powers so that they approach that of imperial leaders, with president Obama’s preposterous claim of having the legal authority to murder anyone anywhere in the world being the most extreme manifestation of this tendency, there is a country whose leader is moving in the opposite direction. [Read more…]

Myths and presumptions about obesity

People who are perceived to be overweight according to the norms set by society have a tough time. We live in a media-saturated world in which thinness is not only treated as a desirable marker of good looks and good health, it is also seen as somehow virtuous and hence people who are above the norms in weight are seen as being somehow morally weak and lacking in will power to control how much they eat. This is despite the fact that it is not at all clear what a person’s optimum weight should be, how much it is affected by distribution and body shape and age, what causes some to be heavier than others, and even whether being overweight is as extremely unhealthy as it is sometimes made out to be. [Read more…]