Dave's Archives

Month: April 2011

  • Gaming the birther denialists

    In news from America, Donald Trump has “accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish” – the final clinching proof that the sitting US President was, in fact, born exactly where he said he was. What a marvellous achievement. Clearly, in deference to such awesome influence, said sitting US President, having just been…

  • Enforcing enlightenment

    I agree wholeheartedly with Jonathan Holmes’ article (and his April 4 episode of Media Watch) on Andrew Bolt. There are probably a few essays now floating around expressing a similar sentiment on Bolt’s run-in with the Racial Discrimination Act. Australia doesn’t have an institutionalised right to free speech (except political speech, as narrowly implied by…

  • Carbon parochialism

    One of the most effective arguments against pricing carbon in Australia is that horrible rhetorical question: how much effect will it have in isolation? Carbon price opponents think they’re onto a winner here, and their success (I think) has largely been in framing it as a national rather than a global issue. In reality, reducing…

  • In the spirit of carbon rationing

    I’ve gone with a new option being provided by my hosting company. Though widely ridiculed in medical circles, homeopathy has the backing of a substantial collection of anecdotal science. There is little evidence to suggest it has ever cured anyone, but the principle may instead be applied to other facets of our civilisation – particularly…