The 108th Carnival of the Godless is coming!

Yours truly, the CyberLizard, has the honor of hosting the 108th Carnival of the Godless on 11 January 2009. Now is the time to get your submissions in.

The new year is traditionally a time for making resolutions about what you intend to do over the coming year. So what are your atheistic resolutions for 2009? Are you coming out this year? Do you resolve to let your family know about your godlessness? Are you resolved to finally let those three midgets that you've been keeping in your basement free? Or is that just me?

Anyway, check out the carnival guidelines and make your submissions. Don't miss out on the fabulous 108th Carnival of the Godless!

My Google Reader overfloweth

A side effect of vacationing is a realization of how much time you actually spend on the internet. My little Samsung BlackJack has been my lifeline to the electronic world and, as admirably as it has performed, there is no subtitute for a good 8 hour work day for getting caught up on the blogosphere. There have been some amazing conversations that I would have loved to participate in and some mind-blowing revelations of intelectual brilliance of my own that I would have liked to share with you (riiiiiight, brilliance. suuuuure).

Technical difficulties aside, the "Real World"(tm) keeps rearing it's ugly head, preventing me from keeping tabs on what's truly important. I mean, can you believe that I've been distracted by piddly little things like having to take my 2.5 year old girl to the doctor on our vacation? The nerve of her to get a URI that lead to bacterial pneumonia and a blood oxygen reading of 60%! Doesn't she realize that I have better things to do than to change her oxygen tank at 3am? I suppose that I can cut her some slack; we are at 10,000 ft after all. But my blogging activities have been severely hampered.

Wintery Xmas Eve

Just a shot from my cell while sitting in the car listening to John Denver and the Muppets (probably the best xmas album ever) and waiting for the Goddess to get out of the store.

Enjoy a safe and love filled holiday season!

Musings on the cold

I may have mentioned before that I am a native Floridian. Lived my whole life there. So going to a place where snow lays all around and you can't sit around in your underwear is like travelling to a foreign land. It is magical and exciting. In my youth I would fantasize about living in such a winter wonderland. I would go skiing every day and go trecking across snow covered mountains.

This was a beautiful fantasy that the Goddess (my wife) and I shared. And when children arrived we expanded our dreams of snow dusted bliss to include them. Then we brought them to Colorado in December.

Instead of travelling in a one horse open sleigh and strolling down a quaint Main Street we are experiencing the joys of perpetually running noses and attempting to bundle sqirming creatures into multiple layers of bulky clothing, and then subsequently load them into a filthy minivan while trying not to track muddy snow inside.

Don't get me wrong, it is still amazing up here but adding kids to the equation definitely changes the result. To all those who have raised children in these frigid climes, I raise my mug of hot chocolate to you and your indomitable spirit!

I'm going to have a sore tongue

From biting it that is. The CyberLizard family has arrived at my grandmother-in-law's house in Breckenridge, Colorado. Fantastic place, fantastic people, but on the coffee table is a copy of BillO's book. How long is it appropriate to wait after arrival to begin the political discussion? ;-) Just wait till they find out I'm an atheist. Then the fun will really start!

I'm a sucker for a meme: Movie get-a-life meme

I lifted this from Greg Laden's blog. I love filling out forms and checking off lists. I'm just weird that way.

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 219 movies on this list. Copy this list, then paste it on facebook or on your blog. Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG which version?
Total so far: 9

(x) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving -MAS
(x) Flubber Orignial version only
Total so far: 11

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 11

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Si teen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 14

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled both versions
(x) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x) Curious George
Total so far: 24

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bron Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 29

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 37

(x) x-Men
( ) x2
( ) x-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 43

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pa
( ) Kippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 46

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 52

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander (there can be only one)
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History
( ) Three
Total so Far: 54

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 57

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 61

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness (Hail to the king, baby!)
Total so far: 62

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 67

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead (Groovy)
(x) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
Total so far: 73

( ) Battle Royale
( ) Battle Royale 2
( ) Brazil
(x) Contact
( ) Cube
( ) Dr. Strangelove
( ) Enlightenment Guaranteed
( ) Four Rooms
( ) Memento
( ) Pi
( ) Requiem for a Dream
(x) Pulp Fiction
(x) Reservoir Dogs
(x) Run Lola Run (Fantastic movie; gotta remember to pick this one up on DVD)
( ) Russian Ark
( ) Serenity
( ) Sin City
( ) Snatch
( ) Spider
(x) The Sixth Sense
( ) The Village
( ) Waking Life
( ) Zatoichi
( ) Ikiru
(x) The Seven Samurai
( ) Brick
(x) Akira (Tetsuooooooo!)
Grand Total: 80

Well, according to this, I still have a life, but I can think of at least 20 movies I have seen that aren't on the list. I'll try to find some time to scrape them out of my brain and put them up.

Also, was there any rhyme or reason to the groupings? Some of them I though shoul dhave been grouped with others.

Link: http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/12/facebook_movie_get_a_life_meme.php

Just a quickie

In case you were wondering what's going on in teh interwebs:



Here is the original. I haven't had time to peruse it, but I caught some good ones.

Link: http://www.dipity.com/user/tatercakes/timeline/Internet_Memes

Happy Monkey!

No clue what I'm talking about? Try here. And if you grok this, join the facebook group.

Link: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/12/here_we_go_again_i_get_more_em.php

Pencils and graph paper and dice, oh my!

I'm a geek. About this fact we are all in agreement. But sometimes I feel like I'm failing in upholding the standards and values of true geekdom. Wil Wheaton is a geeks-geek who has never lost the faith. I got re-hooked onto his blog recently and this article he did about playing D&D made me totally miss my crystal dice set. I haven't played a good old-fashioned pencil-and-paper RPG in way too long.

Wil got to play in a campaign of Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition with Gabe and Tycho from Penny-Arcade and Scott Kurtz from PVP and, to top it off, Chris Perkins from Wizards of the Coast was the DM! Dude, I would have given my left nut to be in that party (especially since I've already had two kids and aren't looking forward to more). Even better than all that, he got to play a new unreleased character class. Man, why do washed up former child actor geeks get all the opportunities? jk Wil, I love ya', in a totally platonic man kind of way. Did I mention that my wife^[1] once got your autograph at a convention, but had you sign the back of Marina Sirtis's head shot 'cause that's all she had? I'm just jealous.

My kids better learn to read soon, 'cause I've got shelves full of RPG goodness just waiting for them to be able to fill out a character sheet and not put the dice in their mouth. I'll bet the boy could calculate THAC0. I can hardly wait...^[2]

^[1] She wasn't my wife at the time, this was back in high school. She was just my best friend then.

^[2] Aren't footnotes cool? I decided to figger 'em out. Now I can be all cool and geeky with references to stuff. As if I were writing something that wasn't completely pointless :P

Link: http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/23470/

Hardcore atheist? meh

The Friendly Atheist has a fun little exercise to find out if you are a "hardcore atheist". I don't necessarily find all of the items to be "hardcore", but, whatever. I like lists and forms so what the hell. I've made my own little comments along the way. Bolded items are ones that I have done.

---

1. Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge.

2. Met at least one of the “Four Horsemen” (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) in person.
Does PZ count? I'll give myself a point

3. Created an atheist blog.
You're reading it ;-)

4. Used the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a religious debate with someone.

5. Gotten offended when someone called you an agnostic.
Nah, takes more than that to offend me. A lot more than that.

6. Been unable to watch Growing Pains reruns because of Kirk Cameron.
Not specifically because of Kirk Cameron; just because it was a bad show

7. Own more Bibles than most Christians you know.
I don't really know how many they have, but since I've got a shelf for them, I'll count it

8. Have at least one Bible with your personal annotations regarding contradictions, disturbing parts, etc.

9. Have come out as an atheist to your family.
Certain members

10. Attended a campus or off-campus atheist gathering.

11. Are a member of an organized atheist/Humanist/etc. organization.

12. Had a Humanist wedding ceremony.

13. Donated money to an atheist organization.

14. Have a bookshelf dedicated solely to Richard Dawkins.

15. Lost the friendship of someone you know because of your non-theism.

16. Tried to argue or have a discussion with someone who stopped you on the street to proselytize.

17. Had to hide your atheist beliefs on a first date because you didn’t want to scare him/her away.
How does this make you hardcore? If you were hardcore you wouldn't date a theist period.

18. Own a stockpile of atheist paraphernalia (bumper stickers, buttons, shirts, etc).
No, but I want some *gift hints* ;-)

19. Attended a protest that involved religion.

20. Attended an atheist conference.

21. Subscribe to Pat Condell’s YouTube channel.

22. Started an atheist group in your area or school.

23. Successfully “de-converted” someone to atheism.
Mostly

24. Have already made plans to donate your body to science after you die.
Just to clarify, this hardly has anything to do with atheism. My mother is a dedicated Lutheran and has always been an organ doner.

25. Told someone you’re an atheist only because you wanted to see the person’s reaction.
That's the most fun part :-D

26. Had to think twice before screaming “Oh God!” during sex. Or you said something else in its place.
I scream lots of things during sex; "Oh God" isn't one of them

27. Lost a job because of your atheism.
Not yet

28. Formed a bond with someone specifically because of your mutual atheism (meeting this person at a local gathering or conference doesn’t count).
Online counts, right?

29. Have crossed “In God We Trust” off of — or put a pro-church-state-separation stamp on — dollar bills.

30. Refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
I've been doing that since junior high. Started by just not saying the "under god" bit, then finally rejected the whole thing

31. Said “Gesundheit!” (or nothing at all) after someone sneezed because you didn’t want to say “Bless you!”

32. Have ever chosen not to clasp your hands together out of fear someone might think you’re praying.
Weird to have to think about that, but I have

33. Have turned on Christian TV because you need something entertaining to watch.
Always good for some lulz

34. Are a 2nd or 3rd (or more) generation atheist.

35. Have “atheism” listed on your Facebook or dating profile — and not a euphemistic variant.

36. Attended an atheist’s funeral (i.e. a non-religious service).
Never had the opportunity, thank god (pun intended)

37. Subscribe to an freethought magazine (e.g. Free Inquiry, Skeptic)

38. Have been interviewed by a reporter because of your atheism.

39. Written a letter-to-the-editor about an issue related to your non-belief in God.
Do comments on blogs and online newspaper articles count? Sure, why not. I'm egalitarian.

40. Gave a friend or acquaintance a New Atheist book as a gift.

41. Wear pro-atheist clothing in public.
Would if I had some *more gift hints*

42. Have invited Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses into your house specifically because you wanted to argue with them.
Never actually done this. They always seem to come by when dinner is trying to be cooked and the kids are running around like screaming banshees. Mostly I just tell them that I'm satisfied with my lord and saviour SATAN!

43. Have been physically threatened (or beaten up) because you didn’t believe in God.

44. Receive Google Alerts on “atheism” (or variants).

45. Received fewer Christmas presents than expected because people assumed you didn’t celebrate it.
Nope. Keep 'em coming, guys!

46. Visited The Creation Museum or saw Ben Stein’s Expelled just so you could keep tabs on the “enemy.”
I'm slacking. I need to go hit the Holy Land Experience. I hear they crucify jesus hourly.

47. Refuse to tell anyone what your “sign” is… because it doesn’t matter at all.

48. Are on a mailing list for a Christian organization just so you can see what they’re up to…
Gotta love the WorldNutDaily :P

49. Have kept your eyes open while you watched others around you pray.
Been doing that since I was a kid and officially a christian

50. Avoid even Unitarian churches because they’re too close to religion for you.
Nope. I'm even a member of one, except I think I let my membership lapse 'cause I moved too far away to go to it every sunday. Our minister was a lesbian Zen-Buddhist atheist. Gotta love it!

So, how did I do? 24/50. Let's see where I fall on the scale:

And just so you know how you fare, here’s a scale to rank yourself (adapted from Darwin’s Dagger’s suggestions):

0-10: Impressive, but not too far from agnosticism.

11-20: You are, literally, a “New Atheist.” But you now have something to strive for! Go for the full 50!

21-30: You are an atheist, but babies aren’t running away from you. Yet.

31-40: You are the 5th Horseman! Congratulations!

41-50: PZ Myers will now be taking lessons from you.

Dammit, no babies running away. Time to buckle down and get to work.

Link: http://friendlyatheist.com/6716/are-you-a-hardcore-atheist/

It's a holly, bloggy xmas

I have a great deal of admiration for those that can write in verse. I, myself, am generally poetry-impaired. Luckily for me (and now you too) one of my readers has summarized my last blog post in song. I just had to share. Go check out what the Perky Skeptic has created to celebrate the holiday season!!!

Link: http://perkyskeptic.blogspot.com/2008/12/linkfest-celebrated-in-song.html

tis the season

I'm crazy busy trying to get ready for a trip that I should be ready for already. Yay procrastination :P

Friday I board a plane for Colorado so I can spend the waning days of 2008 in sub-zero comfort. So in the absence of any insightful or humorous commentary, I'll simply provide you with links to all the stuff that I've found recently that I either wanted to comment on or blog about. Poor substitute for my usual witty reparte, but it will have to do until I clear out the mental clutter and can focus on what's really important: teh intertubes!

Dammit, there goes my theme for my next party: What's the difference between a mad scientist and a terrorist?

PZ speculating on the motivations of legislators: Maybe they're protecting us from the threat of the Grinch

'cause it's a total no-brainer -
How Britain learnt to love the Pill

Two connected pieces from Greta Christina:
Being an Atheist in the Queer Community
and
How To Be An Ally with Atheists

US Army: Soldiers of god - Ed Brayton has a piece revealing some scary evangelism in the military: MRFF's Latest Discovery

In the "c'mon, seriously?" category: Burglar: I Was Held Captive By Ghost For 3 Days
and
Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied

The Atheist Revolution reveals the true origin of "Happy Holidays" and the supposed "War on Christmas": "Happy Holidays" - Deal With It

An oldie but a goodie: 10 myths—and 10 Truths—About Atheism

Chalk one more up for freedom from religion

Federal Judge Blocks Issuance Of 'I Believe' Automobile Tag Featuring Cross And Stained-Glass Church Window

We almost had this fight here in Florida earlier in the year. I'm almost glad that it went to court because now we have a precedent. Not that it should have needed one. It seems quite clear that allowing this would be an obvious violation of the separation of church and state.

Interestingly, the lawsuit was brought on behalf of four clergy members. It's nice to see that both atheists and religious folks can agree that the government is no place to drag religion into.

A federal judge today ruled that the state of South Carolina may not issue a special “Christian” license plate featuring a cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which sponsored the litigation to stop issuance of the plate, hailed the decision.

“The ‘I Believe’ license plate is a clear example of government favoritism toward one religion,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “The court drove home an important point: South Carolina officials have no business meddling in religious matters.”

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie today issued a preliminary injunction forbidding the state to issue or manufacture the plates. She also ordered the state to inform people who requested the plates that they will not be available and to remove information about the plates from the state Web site. Currie will release a written opinion on Monday.

Americans United brought the Summers v. Adams legal challenge on behalf of four local clergy the Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Summers, Rabbi Sanford T. Marcus, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Knight and the Rev. Dr. Neal Jones as well as the Hindu American Foundation and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

In legal briefs, AU asserted that the “I Believe” license plate was unlike other specialty tags offered by the state. The measure authorizing the special plates was passed unanimously by both houses of the legislature, with the active support of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

Americans United also pointed out that some legislators openly admitted that they would not vote for similar plates for minority faiths.

Asked by a reporter if he would support a license plate for Islam, Rep. Bill Sandifer replied, “Absolutely and positively no…. I would not because of my personal belief, and because I believe that wouldn’t be the wish of the majority of the constituency in this house district.”

Said AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, “The ‘I Believe’ license plate sends the message that South Carolina has a favored religion. That’s one message the state is not permitted to transmit.”

Khan argued the case in Columbia before Judge Currie, assisted by AU Madison Fellow Elizabeth J. Stevens. Aaron J. Kozloski of Capitol Counsel, a Columbia, S.C. law firm, served as local counsel.

via Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Link: http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=10191

A year of CyberLizardy goodness

I can't believe I missed this. Actually, I can believe it, this is me we're talking about. What were we talking about? Oh, yeah, my blogiversary! My foray into blogging began on 15 November 2007. I've maintained a site since 1999, mostly to host various programming projects I was working on and to put up pictures and stuff. But I made a decision to start blogging last year, got myself a Blogger account, and went at it. And now, here we are.

There is a year-in-review kind of meme in teh blogosphere. The only rule is to "post the link and first sentence from the first blog entry for each month of the past year." Mine will actually go all the way back to last November in order to get 12 entries because I didn't post anything during a couple of the months last year (don't worry, it won't happen again).

So enjoy this recap of the mad mad mad mad world of the CyberLizard.

• November 2007

  I suppose that it's about time I actually started dumping this crap out of my head and out onto the net.

• December

  The final battle of Beowulf.

• January 2008

  While staring at bag after bag of crumpled wrapping paper that inevitably follows the xmas blitz, I began to wonder about the possibilities of recycling.

• March

  Not only have I actually put together a LEGO MOC, photographed it, and published it, but I submitted it for a contest.

• May

  So chalk this one up to the same strange impulse that causes humans to crane their necks to view an accident scene or watch auto racing with the secret hope that someone will crash.

• June

  It's a sad day.

• July

  You can have my garden when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers

• August

  Once again, one of my pictures has been selected to appear on Insect Picture of the Day.

• September

  This is starting to get scary.

• October

  Congrats to the Rev. for his winning the August Molly award over on Pharyngula!

• November

  Oh, boy, here we go.

• December

  Wow, that's the longest I've gone without blogging anything for a while now.

No comments for you!

Actually, you can make comments, just not with the new fancy thingy I was playing with. I'll mess with it some other time. Continue about your business, nothing more to see here.

Playing around with comments

I'm currently messing with the commenting system. I'm trying out a replacement for Blogger's built-in comments. It's called IntenseDebate. The only problem is that I think I'll lose all existing comments, and I really don't want to do that.

So for now, if you see a weird comment thingy that doesn't look right, just know that I'm playing with it. I'll let y'all know if/when I complete the switch.

Has the media gotten it right about vaccines and autism?

It's a relief to hear an article from the mainstream media that makes Jenny McCarthy sound like the frickin' idiot that she is. NPR had a piece on Morning Edition today; an entirely factual piece that makes no concessions to the whackaloonery spouted by the likes of Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey. In his intro, Steve Inskeep basically starts off by saying that there is no connection between vaccines and autism. The following article actually uses the phrase fear-mongering with regard to the coverage of the supposed controversy surrounding vaccines. The only frustrating thing is that the only thing that makes them take notice is that the "pro-vaccine forces" now have their own celebrity, in the form of Amanda Peete. One of the best things she does as a celebrity spokesperson is to explicitly say that she is not and expert and if people want to know about science, they should talk to a scientist. In this vein, she has teamed up with Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets, who provides some great commentary in this article.

I suggest you listen to the actual article, the text on the website appears to be a paraphrasing of the audio.

For some background on this whole subject, ScienceBlogs recently held a book club around Dr. Offit's book, in which I was fortunate enough to participate. It's a terrific source of factual information about the manufactuversy surrounding the vaccine-autism "debate".

I'm hoping that this means that we have turned a corner and are starting to put the wingnuts like McCarthy back out on the fringes where they belong. It's about time that the MSM has begun to embrace fact over fiction in this area. Let's see if it's catching.

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97940354