RationalWiki

@RationalWiki@mstdn.social
498 Followers
26 Following
485 Posts

The purpose of #RationalWiki includes:
1. Analyzing and refuting #pseudoscience and the anti-science movement
2. Documenting the full range of #crank ideas
3. Explorations of #authoritarianism and #fundamentalism
4. Analysis and criticism of how these subjects are handled in the #media
RationalWiki welcomes contributors, and encourage those who disagree with us to register and engage in constructive dialogue.

#skepticism #criticalthinking

https://rationalwiki.org

RationalWikiDec 5
Emeritus Prof Christopher MayDec 5

Why don't politicians see the problems that over-dependence on cars causes for Britain (and England particularly)?

Because in London, where they spend much of their time such a problem has been addressed by massive expenditure on public transport... only in London can the majority of the population conduct their lives without owning a car.

As so often the Westminster Village's political myopia pushes social costs onto the regions!

#cars #PublicTransport #politics

https://theconversation.com/how-the-uks-dependency-on-cars-slows-down-the-economy-270393

How the UK’s dependency on cars slows down the economy

Clogged up Britain

The Conversation
RationalWikiDec 5
Show threadIf You Add Popehat, That’s ExtraDec 5
/2 "to show that gerrymandering is racist rather than merely partisan the challenger has to offer race-neutral partisan alternatives" is relatively new despicable shit, and "a state gerrymandering based on a president's explicit written demand for racial gerrymandering is presumed cool" is fresh.
RationalWikiDec 5
Show threadIf You Add Popehat, That’s ExtraNov 8
/2 1. Real human beings will suffer from even a brief stay. 2. The government's position is transparently dishonest and in bad faith. 3. The Supreme Court has lost any benefit of the doubt. They have lost the mandate of the heaven that is the rule of law.
RationalWikiDec 5
Show threadIf You Add Popehat, That’s ExtraSep 9
/4 SCOTUS has lost the presumption of regularity -- the mandate of the legal heavens -- through its shadow docket actions, which by invoking SCOTUS' equitable discretionary powers have obliterated the pretext that SCOTUS is merely calling balls and strikes, merely calling lines where they see them.
RationalWikiDec 5
David NirDec 5
It's good—very good, and very important—that district courts keep issuing these 100-page rulings upholding the law. It must be incredibly dispiriting to see them overturned in a two-page, lawless, unsigned order, but please, keep them coming. They expose SCOTUS' corruption like nothing else.
RationalWikiDec 5
Walter OlsonDec 5
If there was one thing I would have thought the current Supreme Court majority was against, it would be assigning voters to districts based on race. But today's Texas decision seems to veer into a "eh, it happens" mode. /1
RationalWikiDec 4
Heidi Li FeldmanDec 3
California Announces New Online Portal to Report Misconduct by Federal Agents https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/california-announces-new-online-portal-report-misconduct-federal-agents
California Announces New Online Portal to Report Misconduct by Federal Agents

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a new online portal to assist members of the public in sharing information with the California Department of Justice regarding potentially unlawful activity by federal agents and officers across the state. Federal agents have broad authority to enforce federal laws, including federal immigration laws, but they must do so lawfully.

State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
RationalWikiNov 30
ProPublicaNov 26

If you work at a federal prison and know about wrongdoing, we want to hear from you.

We’re especially interested in tips about the priorities of the Bureau of Prisons’ leadership, contracting and budget decisions, concerns about wrongdoing or abuses of power, and any info you can share to paint a fuller picture of what’s going on inside the bureau.
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/bop-bureau-prisons

#Prison #Government #CriminalJustice

Do You Work at a Federal Prison? Help ProPublica Investigate the Federal Prison System

If you work at a federal prison and know about wrongdoing, we want to hear from you.

ProPublica
RationalWikiNov 30
Peter GleickNov 30

"Climate breakdown can be seen in the data"

Large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
#water
#climate

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/climate-crisis-depleting-europe-groundwater-reserves-analysis

Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown

Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications

The Guardian
RationalWikiNov 30
Michael BuschNov 30

My local newspaper continues to give a regular column to a Bad Take Guy who has not even bothered to get any new bad takes for the last 25 years (he ran a complaint about Y2K today).

But when I suggested the editors stop doing that, it was not a suggestion to give OpEd space to a new Bad Take author trying to excuse extreme economic inequality.