Read the Current Newsletter: Volume 9 No. 8, 2 August 2010

From Abracadabra to Zombies

The Skeptic's Dictionary Newsletter

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The newsletter describes recent additions or changes to The Skeptic's Dictionary and provides comments on selected issues, publications, and events. ---R. Carroll

Publication is irregular, usually once a month.

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ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS

2010

Volume 9 No. 7, 1 July 2010
Atheist billboard wars; church politics in the U.S. and the UK; Earl Warren a liberal?; atheists and theists on good and evil; TAM8 and JREF grants for teachers; Hitch 22 and the iPad.

Volume 9 No. 6, 4 June 2010
Martin Gardner; Douglas F. Stalker; Paul Kurtz's fall from grace; The Amazing Meeting 8; the anti-vaccination movement; Susan Jacoby: atheist of the year; Sam Harris: non-philosopher of the year; Texas education massacre; the Skeptic's Toolbox; Camp Inquiry and Camp Quest; Straw Man of the month; Weird story of the month; The Skeptical Review; Scum of the minute: Power Balance.

Volume 9 No. 5, 3 May 2010
Open-mindedness and skepticism; a minister's twisted view of atheism; more lies about autism; another cardinal defends the Roman Catholic church; and Gary Null gets burned.

Volume 9 No. 4, 9 April 2010
Notes on archives for Funk, Bunk, & Skeptimedia; public (lack of) trust in authority; pseudosymmetry; the Phelps clan can't get any lower; spin as news; rewriting history to slant it to the right; Smithsonian on human origins; point of inquiry interview; iPhone apps; Diamond Water; Organic Liaison; Teslar watch; and the 2009 Pigasus awards.

Volume 9 No. 3, 9 March 2010
Kinesio tape; asilisaurus kongwe; homeopuncture; opposing Muslims, CardioFuel and Ten Thousand Waves, pH nonsense, astrology in South Dakota legislature, Daniel Loxton's book on evolution, Robbie Thomas, Douglas Todd and Carter Phipps on the 12 theories of evolution, Satoshi Kanazawa, Turkish translation of the SD, Pat Robertson, and atheism in Ireland.

Volume 9 No. 2 February 6, 2010
PZ Myers, Fred Phelps, creationist scam, iPhone apps, atheism, humanism, Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results, SD Facebook page, Scientologists and Baptists in Haiti with the homeopaths, HIMAC scum, faith-based programs flourish under Obama, climate change deniers, and Daniel Loxton's Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be.

Volume 9 No. 1 January 11, 20 10
Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang dies; Neanderthal body art; global warming; Muslims; contamination; punking audiophiles; the 3-in-1 miracle bracelet; philosopher's hand signals.

2009

Volume 8 No. 12 December 1, 2009
Scientists are observing the death throes of the biggest star known to science; the Large Hadron Collider; reading brains; religious displays on government property; 99.992 % of those pulled aside for special interrogation at airports by security forces were released; goodbye to B. Premanand; superstition protected speech in UK; blasphemy law; filtering software; Wahabis and Sufis; religious license plates; more free energy hokum; Ray Comfort's ignorance exceeded only by his chutzpah; Catholics and exorcism; psychic in Brazil; good music at Playing for Change: Peace Through Music.

Volume 8 No. 11 November 2, 2009
Active skepticism; the Ig Nobel prizes; Darwin celebrations; rise in fundamentalism; insecurity and religion; quackery in national health care; TAM London; Holosync; OK abortion law; therapeutic touch at the University of Maryland.

Volume 8 No. 10 October 2, 2009
College course in stupidity; Mississippi's no-no square; an atheist's Christmas book; Richard Dawkins and the Creationist Delusion; did a statue kill a Christian hugger?; the bent-spoon award; the Bullitzer Prize; St. John's wort; Polish perverts; UK libel laws; the EFX bracelet; the Willesee Award; JREF scholarship winners; grassroots skeptics; TAM8.

Volume 8 No. 9 September 2, 2009
Bias in medical journals; WikiProject; Kent Hovind (dinosaur for Christ); Ratzinger rides again; RU-486; Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers; exploiting "psychic" kids; skeptical blog anthology; the WHO and homeopathy; and Space Diamond.

Volume 8 No. 8 August 3, 2009
What Americans think of science; why women are better looking than men; graphene; the scramble for farmland; humans glowing; psychics in the secret service; and more energy nonsense.

Volume 8 No. 7 July 3, 2009
Psychic busybodies; Brian Brushwood's Scam School; Keith Olbermann & the atheists; Nostradamus; open-mindedness and critical thinking; religion and age; detox your meridians.

Volume 8 No. 6 June 11, 2009
Board of Nursing hoax; Down syndrome and cancer; Georgia Republican wants 2010 to be declared the Year of the Bible; missing-link hype; the Reincarnation bank; your car warranty has expired; dental x-rays; JREF scholarships; and summer camp for brights.

Volume 8 No. 5 May 8, 2009
Sickness among the medical journals; disease mongering; Skeptic's Toolbox; Loxton's handbook for skeptics; the never-ending quest; why scientific studies contradict each other; nano-ionic nonsense; a liar for homeopathy; personalysis; the Georgia guidestones; a Lyman-alpha blob; a poll finds that between 30 and 40 percent of young Americans have no religious affiliation; and useless prayers in Congress.

Volume 8 No. 4 April 1, 2009
Abortions, vasectomies, and suicides are increasing as the economy tanks; the number of Christians in the U.S. is declining; the Texas state board of education is led by an unlearned creationist; Arkansas may allow atheists to hold public office; the Roman Catholic Pope demonstrates he is the equal of the head of the Texas board of education; faith healing and the meaning of life; what is God's plan?; Burt Goldman and the secret of life.

Volume 8 No. 3 March 1, 2009
Psychic fails the test; pareidolia and lens flare; the Beauty Brains; alternative health for injured wildlife; new discoveries unveiled at Rancho La Brea; energy quackery at EMR labs.

Volume 8 No. 2 February 3, 2009
Baylor's Religion Survey Deceives Again; Darwin Day; atheist buses; and some bad journalism.

Volume 8 No. 1 January 8, 2009
Award for greatest disregard for reality goes to Diane Hennacy Powell, M.D.; the media's disregard for reality when it comes to the paranormal; acupuncture to save money; another skeptical blog; water madness; religious visions and parables; Algerians jailed for defaming charlatan; and a couple of milestones.

2008

Volume 7 No. 12 December 15, 2008
Psychic goes on life after death tour; psychic reading ban lifted in Vermont; Obama & science; Shermer blames Clinton for the economic mess; a small victory over a quack bracelet ad; book recommendations for 2008.

Vol 7 No. 11 November 16, 2008
Sports and the illusion of control; Superstition and Bob Park; change but no progress on gay marriage in California; Stetzer electric's shock treatment; Sarah Palin on science wins the pig-ignorant person of the year award; stopping Sylvia Browne; the Skepticblog; & the 100th skeptic's circle.

Vol 7 No. 10 October 21, 2008
Priming, pareidolia, apophenia, and The German New Medicine; Hal Bidlack runs for Congress; group acupuncture; cell phone hypochondriacs; Rupert Sheldrake stabbed; The SkepDoc has her own website; is Mickey Mouse an agent of Satan?

Vol 7 No. 9 September 2, 2008
Russell Targ admits he's blind; software & pseudoscience; politics as usual; acupuncture continues to amaze as the cure-all of our day.

Vol 7 No. 8 August 1, 2008
Santa vs. Satan; psychiatrist claims paranormal power; religion on the rise; a couple of scams; and some elementary economics.

Vol 7 No. 7 July 7, 2008
Psychic kids on TV; two quacks duke it out; Penn lights fire under Begley's arse; Newsweek goes soft; Mark Crislip, M.D. denies the existence of the placebo effect; he who would be prez wants more Scalias on the court; update on Jean's scheme.

Vol 7 No. 6 June 2, 2008
Green acupuncture; acupuncture study shows it is a placebo; demons, psychiatric disorders, and the police; psychics and the law; naturopathic rubbish; crystal skullduggery; the devil likes yoga; same-sex marriage; Sharon Stone on karma; NASA puts its foot in its mouth again.

Volume 7 No. 5 May 9, 2008
possession, brain damage, and mental illness; cancer as a fungus that can be cured by baking soda; the Get Well Northern Ireland program; two book recommendations.

Volume 7 No. 4 April 6, 2008
acupuncture as placebo; Ben Steins spreading ignorance at the speed of night: the free speech phony; the rubbish known as educational kinesiology.

Volume 7 No. 3 March 11, 2008
artificial sweeteners & obesity; the share-my-secret scam; diceology; religion in America; depressing news about anti-depressants

Volume 7 No. 2 February 16, 2008
conspiracy theories; science & journalism; psychic predictions; the Maharishi is dead; a blind acupuncturist; a deception and a delusion

Volume 7 No. 1 January 9, 2008
call for a science debate; Canadia superstition; science-based medicine blog; end of the million dollar challenge; psychics and woo

2007

Newsletter 86, December 10, 2007
cell phones, cancer, & journalism; quantum-touch; ghost science in San Francisco (Dean Radin & Gary Schwartz)

Newsletter 85, November 12, 2007
getting involved in skepticism, acupuncture studies; cosmetic acupuncture

Newsletter 84, October 14, 2007
censorship lawsuits

Newsletter 83, September 12, 2007
Francis Collins & C. S. Lewis

Newsletter 82, August 17, 2007
gods, dogs, & really gullible people

Newsletter 81, July 29, 2007
Phil Jordan, Nancy Grace, and the Keystone Cops

Newsletter 80, June 18, 2007
the Rational Response Squad and the Secular Coalition for America

Newsletter 79, May 25, 2007
Jerry Falwell and Newt Gingrich

Newsletter 78, May 3, 2007
the magician in the laboratory

Newsletter 77, April 18, 2007
Skeptiko the faux skeptic

Newsletter 76, March 15, 2007
phony doctors and eating meat

Newsletter 75, February 10, 2007
Rosemary Altea

Newsletter 74, January 7, 2007
Sam Harris

2006

Newsletter 73, December 5, 2006
truth, faith, criticism, and Noreen Renier

Newsletter 72, October 26, 2006
the Baylor religion survey & evaluating experience

Newsletter 71: September 28, 2006
atheists in foxholes

Newsletter 70: August 15, 2006
psychic detectives & antioxidants

Newsletter 69: July 4, 2006
Independence Day & Ann Coulter

Newsletter 68: June 4, 2006
skeptics ridiculing psychics

Newsletter 67: May 1, 2006
intelligent design, quantum mechanics, & a missing link

Newsletter 66: April 4, 2006
homeopathy, cholesterol, & intercessory prayer

Newsletter 65: March 9, 2006
Georgetown University & the Wahhabist Prince

Newsletter 64: February 16, 2006
secondhand smoke, evolution Sunday, & TAM4

Newsletter 63: January 6, 2006
language & framing, & What the bleep do we know?

2005

Newsletter 62: December 7, 2005
skeptics as party poopers

Newsletter 61: November 2, 2005
secondhand smoke

Newsletter 60: October 23, 2005
fundamentalism and tolerance

Newsletter 59: September 29, 2005
anti-evolution & letter from a psychic

Newsletter 58: August 23, 2005
David Hawkins & applied kinesiology

Newsletter 57: July 16, 2005
magical thinking

Newsletter 56: June 16, 2005
causes and correlations

Newsletter 55: May 21, 2005
mind-body medicine, cholesterol, intelligent design

Newsletter 54: April 14, 2005
intelligent design and evolution

Newsletter 53: March 11, 2005
Uri Geller & Osama bin Laden

Newsletter 52: February 8, 2005
Lifespring/Legacy, evolutionary psychology

Newsletter 51: January 12, 2005
channeling quacks

2004

Newsletter 50: December 10, 2004
intelligent design & secondhand smoke

Newsletter 49: November 21, 2004
secondhand smoke & Consegrity

Newsletter 48: October 20, 2004
the god gene, creationism at the Grand Canyon, & Kevin Trudeau

Newsletter 47: September 23, 2004
Gary Schwartz & god

Newsletter 46 - September 9, 2004
Lee Strobel, The Skeptic's Toolbox

Newsletter 45 - August 7, 2004
the Kabala & alternative medicines

Newsletter 44 - July 24, 2004
Prince Charles & alternative medicine

Newsletter 43 - June 20, 2004
electric chairs & quantum touch

Newsletter 42 - June 7, 2004
enlightenment hoaxes & secondhand smoke

Newsletter 41 - May 5, 2004
secondhand smoke

Newsletter 40 - April 14, 2004
Sai Baba and secondhand smoke

Newsletter 39 - March 25, 2004
Michael Newdow & "under god"

Newsletter 38 - February 16, 2004
Ken Wilbur

Newsletter 37 - January 26, 2004
TAM2

Newsletter 36 - January 5, 2004
crop circles and the so-called Skeptical Investigations

2003

Newsletter 35 - December 21, 2003
David Eddy, medicine (real & real placebo)

Newsletter 34 - December 1, 2003
religion and medicine

Newsletter 33 - November 6, 2003
brights? and CSICOP Conference on Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias

Newsletter 32 - October 21, 2003
bright movement

Newsletter 31 - October 7, 2003
dictionary or encyclopedia?

Newsletter 30 - September 2, 2003
list of entries not found in the Wiley book

Newsletter 29 - August 6, 2003
nothing of long-term interest

Newsletter 28 - July 20, 2003
Jan Willem Nienhuys on the Wason card problem

Newsletter 27 - July 4, 2003
Larry King interviews Glen Dennis about Roswell

Newsletter 26 - June 4, 2003
UFO skeptic? the concept of validity in logic

Newsletter 25 - May 5, 2003
the Pathwork cult

Newsletter 24 - April 15, 2003
Myers-Briggs; the Pathwork cult

Newsletter 23 - March 24, 2003
nothing of long-term interest

Newsletter 22 - March 7, 2003
"Eternal damnation awaits anyone who questions God's unconditional love." --Bill Hicks; Van Praagh and cold reading

Newsletter 21 - February 12, 2003
TAM numero uno; how to rib a woman

Newsletter 20 - January 18, 2003
debunking Thierry Meyssan's L'Effroyable Imposture [The Appalling Deception] (2002), one of the first 9/11 conspiracy claims; debunking miracles

Newsletter 19 - January 6, 2003
Dean Radin's distortion of Carl Sagan; debunking psychiatrists Peter Breggin, Allan Horwitz, and Banvard's Folly

2002

Newsletter 18 - December 17, 2002

Newsletter 17 - December 1, 2002

Newsletter 16 - November 19, 2002

Newsletter 15 - November 9, 2002

Newsletter 14 - October 26, 2002

Newsletter 13 - October 8, 2002

Newsletter 12 - September 24, 2002

Newsletter 11 - September 11, 2002

Newsletter 10 - September 1, 2002

Newsletter 9 - August 19, 2002