These shall go down in history as the sequel to the Science Wars. For those of you who don't know, the Science Wars were a series of debates between scientific realists and social constructionists back in the 1990s. The three best-known events from this ideological conflict were the 1994 publication of Higher Superstition, written by Paul R…
False Balance
There are two types of false balance: one is to present skewed versions of two opposing viewpoints to make it appear as if one side is clearly better while pretending to be unbiased (the steelman/strawman combination that I have mentioned before), and the other is to present two fundamentally incompatible positions as somehow being "two…
Daily Debunk for Bollocks Views: Why We Cannot Agree on Basics
I don't have time to keep up with the news, much less stay on top of blogs that have really stupid takes about current events. Luckily, there is a relatively recent article on my favourite punching bag of a blog (live version here, archived version here) that is a little more "timeless," i.e. could potentially…
Daily Debunk for Bollocks Views: Dogs of War
Bracing Views is a cesspit of midwittery. Arrogance and hypocrisy are two things I despise above all else, and Bracing Views offers an abundant supply of both. - Karel Antonovič Janáček I really wish William Astore would shut up, because he does the anti-war movement no good. In fact, between his economic illiteracy, social justice…
What is a “Necessary War,” Exactly?
Some people have an almost religious attachment to the Second World War, despite denouncing every other conflict since (and in some cases, even before) as a pointless waste of human life that achieved precisely bugger all other than making a handful of unscrupulous individuals obscenely rich. These people annoy me, partially because of their inability…
Daily Debunk for Bollocks Views: Make-Believe America
Bracing Views is a cesspit of midwittery. Arrogance and hypocrisy are two things I despise above all else, and Bracing Views offers an abundant supply of both. - Karel Antonovič Janáček In an article beginning with that line (now private), there are hyperlinks to a live version and archived version (which I will be working…
Greg Laxative
I like to refer to the psychotic Trotskiist @greglaxer as "Greg Laxative" because everything he says fills me with the urge to defecate. Yes, that is a Pink Floyd reference, get used to it. For some reason, people named Greg are always miserable little turds, and this isn't just my personal experience; Onision's real name…
The Doctor Dino of Reformists
In an article titled Tea Leaves, a play on a British slang word for "thief," I listed off a bunch of professional plagiarists, beginning with a long list of Christian fundamentalists primarily of the YEC persuasion, but then I finished off by listing two military "reformists," one of whom I personally have an axe to…
Porkies
The comment policy on Bracing Views is as follows: Brevity and civility; clarity and accuracy; passion and largeness of spirit: please aim for these. This site is against pet peeves, score-settling, insults, and other bad behavior that impedes true debate and sound learning. Other than the score-settling bit, that is all a lie. The actual…
Sasha V's Sesquipedalian Soliloquies 