193%

From Probably Bad News. Bad math from Fox News is not news either.
Also at FlowingData, with flame war discussion to boot!

source

Breaking News: 193% Is The New 100%:

[post repaired November 2010]

My Baloney Has a First Name ...

After reading this recent offering from The Sensuous Curmudgeon . . .

The Worst Creationism Book Ever?

I took it upon myself to visit the scene of the crime. I went to the Probed Minihysteries site and ended up reading the "Tuning Up Your Baloney Detector" article. To briefly summarize, they encourage the faithful to protect themselves from errors in critical thinking by "filtering the facts" and therefore committing those very same errors in critical thinking. It is Grade AA stupidity, and that is 5 minutes of my life I won't get back, but it did give me this bit of inspiration:

{singing}

My Baloney Has A First Name,
it's P-R-O-B-E . . .
My baloney has a second name,
it's M-I-N-I-S-T-R-I-E-S . . .
Oh, I love to filter everyday,
And if you ask me why I'll say. . .
'Cuz Probe Ministries has a way . . .
To Make-Those-Facts-Just-Go-A-Way!

Somehow I doubt it will catch on, but it gave me a bit of entertainment. Here is the original . . .

Lies, Damned Lies, and ... some more lies after that.

I just had this great idea for a blog titled "Lies, Damned Lies, and ____". So here is the main idea: a blog where every post is a lie. That's it. Very easy to write because I could just make it all up. No research needed! The inspiration for this was my discovery of the Sarah Palin page on Facebook. Aai-yai-yai, that could be a source of endless lampooning for the rest of my days. If that well runs dry, there is always Fox News.

Fortunately, I am time constrained by the projects I already have. Therefore I'll leave the idea open for any interested party.

[Update 9/06/2009]
It looks like someone may have taken me up on this. More likely they beat me to the punch. From Sun Dappled Forest:

That’s right. It is not just crazed flatulant loonies anymore. Even the right-wing is addressing the stories that are out there. It is being said that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.

Should I applaud, or cry?

[with a HatTip to Pull My Finger]

Smoking Lettuce

Stunningly STUPID: Representative Steve Buyer believes smoking lettuce is the same as smoking cigarettes.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Moment of Zen - Smoking Lettuce
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

[from The Daily Show]

Here a longer clip of the same from C-SPAN:



Maybe Steve Buyer has a been smoking of some lettuce himself? Hey Steve? How about sharing some of that good stuff with the rest of us!

... and THEN I went to Buyer's site and read this:

BUYER PROMOTES BETTER PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY;

Washington, D.C.—The House of Representatives today passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. The FDA is already an over-stressed and under-resourced federal agency which will now be burdened with responsibilities that goes against its core mission—ensuring the safety of our nation’s food, drugs, and medical devices—to regulate an inherently risky product. Congressman Steve Buyer’s (IN-04) mission is to improve the nation’s public health, and he believes there is better policy to help smokers quit than the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1256.

I feel SO much safer knowing that Steve Buyer is out there fighting for our safety.