Partisan language has gotten silly. (2012/09/12)
I’ve noticed a thing, which is that angry internet commenters who use “libs” are using it as some kind of code word. It doesn’t mean liberals. It means bogeymen. “Libs” are a large, well-organized, utterly monolithic, group of people who are at all times completely dishonest, completely irrational, totally stupid, totally uninformed, and persisting in being this way out of malice.
[read more...]This is sorta freaky, and I am not at all sure what I think of it (2012/09/04)
The FDA has approved clinical trials of a proposed cure for autism.
[read more...]Reporting the wrong story (2012/09/01)
EDIT: See updates below. The actual thing Romney said was probably slightly different, and it is not clear that it ought to be considered a “slogan” really.
[read more...]Wow, I was a lot more pedantic ten years ago (2012/08/27)
I think one of the most useful things, for me, about knowing that I’m autistic is that it helps me give a slightly more useful evaluation to questions like “is this inaccuracy a serious lie or not”.
[read more...]Well, at least Akin isn't gonna be lonely. (2012/08/27)
“Apparently, it’s not just Akin.“http://www.politicspa.com/updated-smith-makes-abortion-gaffe-with-audio/40404/ (Or try this link if that one’s busted.)
[read more...]Why I still think there's hope for humanity (2012/08/23)
On a forum I hang out on, someone mentioned that he was going to have to go to court and see the kid who had (inadvertantly) killed his wife. He was going there to plead for mercy. (Apparently, the kid looked down for a moment to set something down, looked up, saw a car, WHAM.) He chose to share with us the text of the speech he gave. Yeah, it’s full of typos. I put it to you that this is worth the time to read anyway.
[read more...]Discrimination: A quick math puzzle (2012/08/22)
Someone in a discussion recently conceded that people in meetings will often ignore a woman’s idea, but react positively to the same idea if a man offers it. This is moderately well studied. He then went on to point out that if this didn’t happen, things might not be better; after all, it wouldn’t be “twice as many people are talking and being listened to”, the meeting would still have the same amount of time and pick up the same number of ideas.
[read more...] Republican Senate nominee: Women don't get pregnant from "legitimate" rape (2012/08/19)
“Todd Akin believes that women’s bodies have some kind of magical mechanism to prevent pregnancy in the case of a “legitimate” rape.":http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/todd-akin-legitimate-rape.php
[read more...]An open letter to some doctor somewhere. (2012/08/15)
A friend of mine recently spoke to you about a possible diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, and reports being dismissed on the grounds that without a cure, there’s no benefit to a diagnosis. This reflects a number of severe understandings of the nature of autism-spectrum disorders, the experiences that autistic people have, the kinds of treatments available, the role of medical care in a patient’s life, and more.
[read more...]How to call someone out (2012/08/13)
(Note: Currently still a draft, there may be edits later.)
[read more...]