Category Archives: Science And Society

The Steyn Countersuit

With his new attorneys, Mark has filed a motion to deny Mann’s motion to dismiss:

Mann’s lawsuit is not advocacy. It therefore does not even cross the statutory threshold. His misguided attempt to invoke the Anti-SLAPP law’s provisions to discourage Steyn’s counterclaims would defeat the very purpose of that law. That is so because Steyn’s counterclaims -– unlike Mann’s lawsuit — do not seek to interfere with a right of advocacy. Since Mann’s libel suit does not constitute “advocacy,” Steyn need not show a likelihood of success on the merits to defeat Mann’s motion.

Mann’s attempt to enlist the Anti-SLAPP law as a weapon to silence Steyn’s criticisms is perverse. It is contrary to the fundamental salutary purpose of that statute. It wrongfully seeks the imposition of costs and attorneys’ fees against Steyn in retaliation for his asserting and defending his constitutional right to speak out on a matter of great public interest.

No comment.

Cosmos

Chad Orzell has some problems with the reboot. So do I and while it’s not his main concern, he puts his finger on it:

The bit where he called out young-Earth creationism for the impoverished scale of its vision was cute, too, though I’m not sure it was all that necessary or useful (in that the people who believe that won’t be watching, and wouldn’t be convinced), but then the show has clearly established a pattern of throwing red meat to the anti-religious from time to time.

Yes, if by “from time to time” he means every episode so far. I’m not traditionally religious, but I find it gratuitous and off putting. The writers and Tyson seem to get some sort of righteous satisfaction from putting a rhetorical thumb in the eyes of believers. It does not advance science, or their own secular religious cause.

Saturated Fat

The science is (finally) settled:

Since the 1970s almost everyone in this country has been subjected to a barrage of propaganda about saturated fat. It was bad for you; it would kill you. Never mind that much of the nonsaturated fat was in the form of trans fats, now demonstrated to be harmful. Never mind that many polyunsaturated fats are chemically extracted oils that may also, in the long run, be shown to be problematic.

Never mind, too, that the industry’s idea of “low fat” became the emblematic SnackWell’s and other highly processed “low-fat” carbs (a substitution that is probably the single most important factor in our overweight/obesity problem), as well as reduced fat and even fat-free dairy, on which it made billions of dollars. (How you could produce fat-free “sour cream” is something worth contemplating.)

But let’s not cry over the chicharrones or even nicely buttered toast we passed up. And let’s not think about the literally millions of people who are repelled by fat, not because it doesn’t taste good (any chef will tell you that “fat is flavor”) but because they have been brainwashed.

And this junk-science nutritional advice almost certainly contributed to my father’s death thirty-five years ago. I hope, at some point, that they stop putting all the “fat free” labels in the candy section.