Dude... you're not helping your cause.

Sometimes fundamentalist Christians say the dumbest things. Sometimes they don't. And sometimes they hold up signs saying the dumbest things:

I know this guy is trying to make Satan look bad, but he's doing a horrible job at it.

With the exception of witchcraft, which is just another religious belief that can be as irrational as fundamentalist Christianity, none of those things are bad to learn about and should be taught to all children, with the exception of sexuality which should probably be taught to a teenager rather than a child as a child would probably be to young to understand and might even get a bit freaked out by some of the thing you're talking about.

There is nothing wrong with teaching a kid about evolution either as evolution is science and all children should learn about science of all types, even ones that certain highly religious do not believe in.

As for psychology I can't imagine why even fundamentalist Christian would want a child to not learn about how the mind works, unless they are a fundamentalist Christian that thinks that all psychological issues are the result of demonic possession.

Regardless, this guy is not helping his cause. He's hurting it... badly.

5 Things I've noticed about... Truthers

Truther, a term that came from the 9/11 Truth movement, but has become more than just an ironic and demeaning term for 9/11 conspiracy theorists.

A Truther can be someone believes in conspiracy theories other than the 9/11 conspiracy theories.

With this in mind I've taken a look at these people, and while I've noticed alot of traits about them, I've narrowed it down to about five different things.

So here are five things I've noticed about Truthers:

5. It's a broad and encompassing term.

For most people when they hear the word "Truther" they think of someone whom is apart of the 9/11 Truth movement, or just someone whom believes the myth that the US government, or Israel, or the Illuminati committed the 9/11 attacks. While this is true, "Truther" has become a more broad term and could include not just a member of the 9/11 Truth movement, but any conspiracy theory.

What a Truther really is is a type of conspiracy theorist that both claims they want to know the truth about a conspiracy theory, and then claims they already know what the truth is, but in reality it's anything but the truth.

Think of this type of person as someone whom asks you where the nearest large body of water is and you tell them that there is a pond 100 feet behind them, but they don't believe you and then tell you that nearest large body of water is two miles away, despite the fact that the pond is clearly behind them, and all they would have to do is turn around to see it. Even if they do turn around they'll just insist that it's not really a large body of water.

That's another thing about Truthers...

4. They keep "Moving the Goalposts".

For anyone who has had a "conversation" with a Truther type of conspiracy theorist you probably already know what I'm talking about, but for those who don't I'll explain.

Truthers, when confronted with evidence and/or logical arguments that contradicts or disproves their conspiracy theories, will often claim that what is being presented to them is not enough evidence to disprove what they are claiming isn't true, or that the evidence that you are presenting to them isn't true, and in either case they will claim to need more.

When a skeptic gets into an argument with a Truther and they start doing this a person like myself will usually determine that either the Truther is too dumb to realize what they are doing, or too deluded to realize what they are doing, or are in serious denial and are trying to hold on to what they believe or want to believe is real, but somewhere in their minds they know they're wrong.

Besides just "Moving the Goalposts" another tactic that Truthers like to use is...

3. They call everyone that disagrees with them a shill.

Truthers are under the assumption that they are right, and that everyone else who does not agree with is wrong. For those that continue to insist that the Truther is wrong then the Truther just seems to naturally assume the skeptic is either a sheep that has not "woken up" to "the truth" (their truth mind you) or someone who is being paid to say what they are saying.

Accusing someone of being a shill will often leave many skeptics to question whether or not a Truther seriously believes that a person is a shill, or if they're calling someone a shill as a way to avoid having to address the evidence and logic that a skeptic brings up.

Skeptics are not the only people get accused of being a shill. Truthers accuse each other of being shills, usually over a disagreement about who committed a "conspiracy", how they did it, and for what reason.

Most people would think that with two Truthers, despite their disagreement over how it was done, who did it, and for what ever reason a conspiracy took place, that they would show some unity, but they don't. Infact...

2. They're often aggressive with each other.

To a skeptic watching a Truther try to argue with another Truther can be the most hilarious thing to watch. Not only do these arguments show that their is no solidarity among Truthers of a certain conspiracy theory, but they also seem to try to one up each other in bogus and false claims, as well as sheer insanity.

Ofcourse this only happens with two Truthers that are near or equally aggressive. If one Truther is a newbie or just not as near aggressive as the Truther they get into an argument with, the aggressive Truther can be very domineering as well as very intimidating, and could cause some people to leave a Truther movement, or cause others to form their own Truther movement, or try to force that one aggressive Truther out (but this rarely happens).

The probable reasons why some Truthers are so aggressive towards other Truthers is that they are trying to weed out the weak (a sort of Truther hazing as some might see it) or they're trying to "identify" possible "shills", or they could just so seriously believe that their conspiracy theory is correct that they feel they must do what ever it takes to prevent the spreading of false information by others, including fellow Truthers.

Then there are just those that are naturally aggressive towards others and probably have some serious mental health issue.

Regardless of whether they are arguing with a fellow Truther or a skeptic a Truther will always do this one thing...

1. They will always bring up the same stuff that they think is evidence.

Regardless of whether or not a Truther will keep moving the goalpost on someone, or call them a shill, or just get really aggressive with another person, they will always use the same discredited arguments, and use the same debunked evidence that they believe is real evidence.

The arguments a Truther will make concerning any conspiracy theory are as predictable as phases of the Moon, and the reason I say that is like phases of the Moon they constantly repeat themselves over and over again.

Sometimes the arguments that they make are so common and in lock step that we skeptics know what a Truther is going to say before the Truther says it.

I guess that's the way of the Truther. Keep making the same debunked arguments over and over, while at the same time denying any real evidence.

Maybe we shouldn't call them Truthers. Maybe we should call them "Mythers"? Or liars.

Please don't tell people not to be happy that Fred Phelps is finally gone

Fred Phelps, founder and former leader of his family based cult, the Westboro Baptist Church, has finally done something useful: he died!

I'm sure that many people now (myself included) are probably overjoyed that this horrible and abusive and just plain evil person is finally gone, which I'm certain includes many of the loved ones of people who's funerals he and his little cult protested for no reason other than to cause pain.

While I do know that they claimed that they were doing all of these so called "protests" inorder to spread their "message", but really, does anyone actually believe any of that? I doubt it, and even in some sick way that really is the truth... well who cares? It still doesn't make what they do any less wrong because they could have gone some where else and spread their "message", nor does it make any of what they say any less vile.

Now like with any time some despicable person like Fred Phelps dies there are people that will tell you that you shouldn't feel any joy over the fact that this person is dead, and that you should let the family have a chance to grieve, and that you should perhaps even feel sad for them. Normally I would agree with this, but not in this case, because:

1. He and his cult caused a lot of pain to other people for no reason what so ever, and he did so because he knew he could.

2. He wouldn't give other families the same curtsies, so why should anyone do so for his?

3. A lot of his family is just as bad as he was and "protested" at other's funerals simply to cause other families pain.

There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people who are right now just waiting to go and protest his funeral, and I also know that there are some people out there who think that "wouldn't protesting his funeral  put you on the same level as him and his cult and make you no better than he and his cult?"

No, it wouldn't. He and his little cult protested at the funerals of soldiers, children, murder victims, people who died of AIDS, and a whole bunch of other people that he and his cult had no reason what so ever to protest other than to cause the families of the people who died pain.

I can understand reasoning behind the belief that doing to them what they did to so many others would make you no better than them, but the shear fact that they "protested" at other people's funerals for no reason what so ever other than to cause the families pain, and the fact that these people didn't deserve to have their funerals protested, coupled with the fact that he and his cult has done a lot of stuff (including the funeral protests) that would warrant protesting his funeral invalidates this belief.

Sadly there will be no official funeral for him as the WBC claims it does not have funerals, which in retrospect is a good thing because a funeral would mean that there would be a celebration of his life, which is not something to celebrate. On the other hand (assuming that they are not lying and really are going to have a funeral for him in secret, or aren't having a funeral because they don't want a taste of their own medicine) this is also a bad thing because they are denying people the right to finally do to him and his cult what he and his cult did to so many others.

Still, being glad that Fred Phelps is doesn't make you a bad person, and wanting to protest his funeral doesn't put you on the same level as him or his cult. Those who do believe that it makes you a bad person and puts you on his level are wrong and in a way are excusing him and his cult.

Saying you shouldn't be happy that he is dead is in my opinion the same as saying that "sure he was a bad person, but not someone you should be glad that is dead." No, he really was that bad of a person, and there is no reason for anyone for anyone not to be happy that he is dead.

You can tell person that you feel no joy over Fred Phelps death, but don't tell someone else they shouldn't, because there is no reason why someone should not be happy that this person is gone.

The best Videos of the Week for 2013

Last year I started putting up on this page one video per week.

Now I've had a lot of videos on here that were just great, and today I've decided to have a look back at what I consider to be the five best videos of the week for 2013:

5. Alex Jones As Alien Lizard Explains Obamacare

Probably every skeptic around the world knows who Alex Jones. While many skeptic bloggers have atleast written up a couple of articles to either discredit him and/or show what kind of a fool he is, still by far the best person to discredit Alex Jones and to make him look like a fool... is Alex Jones.

This clip from Right Wing Watch's Youtube page clearly shows why that's true:



4. Debunking 9/11 conspiracy theorists part 6 of 7 - The psychology behind a 9/11 truther

From late 2012 to early 2013 Myles Power created a seven part series that is in my opinion one of the best 9/11 conspiracy theory debunking videos that I have ever seen, and the sixth video in the series, which explains the psychology and mindset of a 9/11 Truther, and infact most conspiracy theorists, could have itself been a stand alone video apart from the series.



3. Five Stupid Things About the Anti-Vax Movement

Steve Shives is one of my favorite vloggers on Youtube, and his Five Stupid Things segment is my favorite of all of his video segments, and in this video he rips the anti-vaccination movement a new one, showing not only how all of their claims are completely bogus, but also how dangerous it is not to vaccinate your child, or yourself for that matter.



2. Dumbest Anti-Gay Comments (Compilation)

How best to expose the leaders in the anti-gay movement as the homophobic bigots they really are? Actually you don't have to. They do a good enough exposing themselves by making the most vile comments about homosexuals, and do so in public for all the world to see as this clip from Secular Talk shows:



1. Psychic Char Margolis fail on WGN Morning News

I know I might sound a little bit malicious for this, but I love it when a psychic fails, and not only fails, but fails on live TV for the whole world to see! In this clip from WGN News "psychic" Char Margolis fails to make a psychic reading (or what is better known as a cold reading) and pretty much makes a fool of herself infront of the world:

If the Government is shut down, then who is paying the shills?

It's been a week now since the part of the federal government shut down due to lack of funding because Congress can not agree on a budget.

Since much of the government has been shut down due to funding there is a question I have for conspiracy theorists: Who is paying the shills?

Now according to many conspiracy theorists shills are apparently anyone who goes around the internet spreads what they consider to be "dis-information" to discredit their conspiracy theories (which for some reason is often times backed up with facts and logic).

Basically, skeptics and debunkers (those people claim to be volunteering their time to debunk conspiracy theories on the internet, but according to many conspiracy theorists, are being paid by the government to spread dis-information, and who's only "evidence" they have to prove that they are shills is simply that they disagree with the conspiracy theorist).

So if the government is shut down, then why do shills like myself (according to conspiracy theorists) still have their sites up, and are still posting blog articles debunking conspiracy theories?

Sure there are some Federal agencies still up and running, and their are still some government employees who are considered essential for running the government who are still working (granted many of them aren't actually going to be paid until after Congress comes up with a budget that gets approved by the president).

Now certainly spreading "dis-information" over the internet couldn't possibly be an essential part of government, could it? I can't see any logical reason why it would be.

Maybe the shills are being paid by the [insert some dark and shadowy group here] and that's the reason why they are continuing to spread their facts and logic based "dis-information".

Or, perhaps skeptics and debunkers really aren't shills, and they're not being paid by the government to spread what conspiracy theorists consider to be dis-information.

Perhaps what they are really spreading is research based facts and logic, and that they are doing it on their own and are not being paid by anyone.

Perhaps the real reason why conspiracy theorists believe that skeptics and debunkers are shills aren't because they are, but because they can't accept the fact someone has looked at the facts of some conspiracy theory and have concluded something different, and thus in their minds the only "logical" conclusion that they can come up with is that those people who are saying that a conspiracy theory is bogus is that the person whom is claiming that the conspiracy theory is bogus is being paid to say so.

Why do people lie about their belief in a Conspiracy Theory? Part 1: Fear

Why do some people continue to express belief in a conspiracy theory when they actually no longer believe in that conspiracy theory?

Yes, as hard as it might sound to some people, their are people out there that do in fact lie about their beliefs in a conspiracy theory, and there are actually several different reason why someone does this, but one of the main reasons why someone does this is fear.

In fact not only is fear a major reason why someone would claim to believe in a conspiracy theory that they no longer believe in, there are actually several different reasons (or excuses) for that fear.

What if?

Probably one of the most common reasons why a person says they believe in a conspiracy theory, even when they do not actually believe in it is the question of "what if?" as in "what if I'm wrong?"

The fear of being wrong about something is often times one of the biggest reasons why someone claims to believe in something when in their minds they actually don't (or at least question themselves) because they think it might save them in some ways if they turn out to be wrong and it actually is true...

They don't want to look stupid.

For some people whom believe in a conspiracy theory, but have since stopped believing but continue to claim to believe in a conspiracy theory, they may be continuing to claim they believe in a conspiracy theory due to the fact that they, in a way, would be admitting that they were being stupid, and maybe in their egotistical minds, would look stupid in the process.

Because of this fear, combined with their own ego, it can cause a person to continue saying that they believe in a long after they actually stopped believing in a conspiracy theory, and can cause them to continue to try to prove a conspiracy theory that they no longer believe in is real to other people.

They can also be very sensitive as well and blow up when someone questions their claims, or intelligence, or sanity.

They're afraid losing relationships.

Some people might claim to believe in a conspiracy theory not because genuinely believe in it, but because someone they are close to, or a group of people they are close to, believes in that conspiracy theory.

This relationship could be with a family member they are close to, or their entire family, and they're afraid that if they speak out and say that they do not believe in the conspiracy theory that the family member (or members) believes in, or do not even express any of the same beliefs in said conspiracy theory, they may lose what relationship they have with that family member, or their family.

The relationship lose might not come from a family member either. It could be a fear of a lose of friends.

Lets say a person has a friend, or a group of friends, who believe in a conspiracy theory. Or, maybe they even joined an organization that promotes a certain conspiracy theory, and they made friends with some of the people in that organization. Some people might continue to claim they believe in that conspiracy theory long after they stopped believing in it simply because they don't want to lose their friends.

They're afraid of being harassed and retaliated against.

While some people's fear based reasons for continuing to believe in a conspiracy theory they no longer believe in (or never really did) might be a selfishly based fear, some people's fear might be a legitimate fear, such as the fear of being harassed and/or retaliated against.

This fear is a very legitimate in fact, not only because conspiracy theorists have been known to harass skeptics and debunkers who express doubt in a conspiracy theory, or actually prove a conspiracy theory to be false, but also because it has happened before to other former conspiracy theorists too.

This fear of harassment might not even come from people in a conspiracy theorist organization. It may come from the whole community, especially if the whole, or at least many in the community actually believes in a certain conspiracy theory and you do not. Expressing disbelief in a conspiracy theory in such a community could result in some people trying to run that person out of town.

Because of this fear of harassment and other, perhaps more violent forms of retaliation, this may keep a person claiming to believe in a conspiracy theory long after they no longer do.

They're afraid of being abused.

While most people believe in a conspiracy theory because they want to, some people only say they believe in a conspiracy theory out of the very real and legitimate fear of being assaulted by someone close to them that does.

This fear can be very real and could be the result of a spouse, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or even a parent whom is either intimidating, authoritarian, and/or abusive. Combine this with a belief in conspiracy theories that person might have, and it might make a person whom is on the receiving end of the abuse feel like they have no choice but to say that they believe in a conspiracy theory simply to stay safe.

Sometimes they claim to believe in a conspiracy theory not out of the fear of possibly being abused, but because they have been told by the abusive party that they will be beaten if they defy them, or actually have been beaten for defying them.

Fear of financial lose.

The final fear based reason why some people claim to believe in a conspiracy theory even when they no longer do (or never did) is because they have a real financial incentive to claim to believe in a conspiracy.

First, the person could own a business that has clientele that not only believe in conspiracy theories, but believe in it them so much so that they might not do business with someone whom doesn't agree with them (this could be based off of their own fear that a person could be a shill if they don't agree with them).

Because the owner might not want to lose that person's business, they might claim they also believe in that conspiracy theory, why in reality they really don't.

Now the other type of fear of financial lose might not come from the fear of the lose of clientele, but the fear of losing your job, either by getting fired by a manager or owner who believes in a conspiracy theory and doesn't want anyone working for them that doesn't, or a co-worker whom believes in a conspiracy theory, and retaliates and does anything they can to get a person fired because they don't believe in the conspiracy theory that they believe in.

How to tell a Conspiracy Theorist from a Conspiracy Believer

In a previous post I discussed how some conspiracy theorists aren't really conspiracy theorists, and that those people should instead be called "conspiracy believers".

While I did point out some basic differences between the two, I didn't really go into to much detail into what those differences really are.

Here I have put together a list of things that conspiracy theorists tend to do that sets them apart from conspiracy believers:

Terminology

Conspiracy theorists has certain words that they tend to use and is quite common for them to use in a conversation (or argument). Some of the more common words used are shill, sheeple, blue pill, red pill, and dis-info agent.

There are of course more then just that, but if you hang around enough conspiracy theorist websites (or get into an argument with a conspiracy theorist on Youtube) you'll learn more of them.

Creating conspiracy theories

One of the primary things that set conspiracy theorists apart from conspiracy believers is that conspiracy theorists actually create conspiracy theories.

Many of these conspiracy theories tend to be either expanding on a already established conspiracy theory, or a conspiracy thats directed at them. Of course, sometimes conspiracy theorists create entirely new conspiracy theories as well.

Emotional Reactions

While conspiracy believers might not become to emotional when discussing a conspiracy theory that they believe in, many conspiracy theorists on the other hand tend to become emotional when they discuss a conspiracy theory they believe. The levels of emotional reactions varies depending on how important the conspiracy theory is to that person, how much they believe the alledged conspiracy affects them, and if the person they are discussing the conspiracy theory with believes them or not.

The use of logical fallacies

While conspiracy believers try to avoid using logical fallacies, conspiracy theorists on the other hand tend to use them all the time, and appear to not even know that they are doing so.

While logical fallacies of all types tend to be used, two of the most common types used are association fallacy and emotional appeal.

Rejection of contradicting and disproving evidence

Conspiracy believers, while they many or may not stop believing in a conspiracy theory once they have been given evidence that can prove the conspiracy theory that they believe in is not true (or at least having a high probability of not being true) conspiracy theorist on the other hand tends to reject any evidence that contradicts and/or disproves what they believe, unless there is something in that evidence that they feel actually proves the conspiracy theory they believe in.

Confirmation bias

While both conspiracy believers and conspiracy theorists tend to have confirmation bias, conspiracy theorists tends to see any small piece of evidence as being absolute confirmation that the conspiracy theory they believe in is true, no matter small it is, no matter if it is taken out of context or not, and no matter if it is even real or not. Conspiracy believers at least will see evidence as just that, evidence, and is more willing to disregard such evidence if it can be proven to them that it isn't true, or taken out of context.

Inappropriate behavior

Conspiracy believers tend to be civil, and tries not to engage in behaviors that would be considered inappropriate because they tend not to get frustrated with people who don't believe them. Conspiracy theorists on the other hand tends to get frustrated pretty easily, and because of this they get angry easily and start behaving in ways that many people would consider to be inappropriate. Examples of this would be insults, threats, spamming internet threads, vileness, manipulation, personal attacks, stalking, harassment, creating inappropriate conspiracy theories, defending another person's inappropriate behavior, and engaging in behavior that most people would consider to be disturbing.

Seeing people who disagree with them as their enemy

When a conspiracy believer talks to some one who doesn't believe in the conspiracy theory that they believe in they will only think of that person as someone who simply disagrees with them. A conspiracy theorist on the other hand sees a person who disagrees with them as being their enemy that is working for whatever group that they believe is committing the conspiracy that they believe in, or at the very least someone who is less intelligent then they are, and therefore (in their minds) more prone to believing whatever they are told by said group.

Belief that what they are doing is the right thing

While both conspiracy believers and conspiracy theorists believe that believing in certain conspiracy theories is okay, conspiracy theorists tend to take it a step further by spreading these conspiracy theories and "correcting" those who disagree with them. They do this because they strongly believe to be real the conspiracy theories that they believe in, and because of that they tend to think that anything they do to promote these conspiracy theories is okay and the right thing to do.

10 Counter conspiracy theories

Ever hear of the term "Counter conspiracy theory" (which is in a conspiracy theory that is meant to counter another conspiracy theory)? Probably not, but you have probably read of a few of them (mostly when someone is having an argument with someone promoting a conspiracy theory).

So, I have decided to play Devil'e Advocate here and have listed ten counter conspiracy theories:

10. 9/11 conspiracy theories were invented by Al-Qaeda.

Ever since the 9/11 conspiracy theories started to show up, some people have made accusations that Al-Qaeda itself actually invented many of the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even bribed certain people within the 9/11 Truth movement to spread these conspiracy theories.

The problem with this is that Al-Qaeda admits to committing the 9/11 attacks, and even criticized Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for saying that the United States government did it.

9. "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews".

Many have accused David Icke's primary conspiracy theory, that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" control the Earth and impersonate leaders of the world, as being nothing more than a re-hashing of old Jewish conspiracy theories, and that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is actually a code word for "Jews".

While it is possible that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews", most antisemitic conspiracy theorists don't bother to use such code words. Plus, David Icke is pretty much crazy as hell, so it's actually possible that he really does mean "Shape shifting reptilian aliens".

8. Alex Jones is a fraud.

While many negative things have been said about Alex Jones and the conspiracy theories that he promotes (which also usually gets debunked) one of the claims that is made against him is that he is just a fraud, and that he doesn't even believe what he says, and that he is just making up conspiracy theories to make money from his followers.

It's true that Alex Jones has made a lot of money from promoting conspiracy theories, and there is proof that he is very manipulative, the problem is that there is no 100% proof that he doesn't believe in the conspiracy theories he promotes.

7. Police State conspiracy theories is made up propaganda.

While there is quite a number of "Police State" conspiracy theories (i.e. FEMA camps, false flag attacks, martial law, etc.) some people have accused these conspiracy theories of being nothing more than propaganda made up by extreme right wing groups as a way to help recruit, or at least attempt to justify their own actions.

While it is true that, like with most other conspiracy theories, police state conspiracy theories are made up, and are sometimes used as propaganda, with the exception of a few people, it can be pretty hard to tell if a person making such claims are doing so for propaganda purposes, or if they really do believe what they are saying.

6. "The invasion of Iraq was for oil" claims is nothing more than propaganda.

Even before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, there were claims that the invasion was for nothing more than to get that country's oil, and almost immediately there were counter claims that these accusations were actually being made up by those opposed the invasions, and even was created as a form of political propaganda (most of those accusations tend to be towards the Democrats and the former Iraqi government, but other groups are accused as well).

While it is true that many people who opposed the invasion also claim that it was for Iraq's oil, the problem is that they are also very sincere in their beliefs, and most politicians (even those who opposed the invasion) tend not to make those claims either.

5. Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves.

There are a lot of accusations directed towards Holocaust denialist (most of which are probably true) one of the accusations is that Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves, and that it is strictly made up antisemitic propaganda.

While it is true that some Holocaust denialists probably don't even believe what they are claiming, and are making these claims as nothing more than antisemitic propaganda, it is also possible that some of them really do believe that the Holocaust didn't happen, and that their bigotry is causing them to be willfully ignorant of the facts.

4. Tax protesters are just trying to get out of paying taxes.

One of the claims made against tax protesters (people who refuse to pay taxes because they believe that the IRS, income taxes, and most other taxes are illegal) is that they aren't doing what they do because they really do believe that the IRS and taxes are illegal, they're just doing it because they don't want to pay taxes.

While it is probably true that many so called tax protesters are only with the movement because they simply don't want to pay taxes, there are some tax protesters out there that really believe that taxes are against the law.

3. Creationists believe in evolution.

While many of the "claims" creationists have made to try to "counter" the theory of evolution are down right ridiculous (which includes the claim that the theory of evolution was just made up, or that it's an invention of the Devil), there are some people who claim that many creationist actually do believe in evolution, and that they are claiming that they don't either because of social pressures, or, for the high profile creationists, are just making up stuff to hold on to whatever power they have.

While many of the top creationist probably are trying to hold on to whatever power that they have, the odds are is that they really do believe in what they are saying, otherwise they wouldn't put out such ridiculous counter theories to evolution.

2. Global warming denialists are being paid to be denialists.

Probably one of the largest counter conspiracy theories out there is that many of the top promoters global warming hoax conspiracy theory are actually being paid by certain industries to deny that global warming either exists, or that it's being caused by human activities.

While it might be easy to believe that many of the top global warming denialists are being paid to promote the global warming hoax conspiracy theories, the problem is that there really is no proof that these people really are being paid to promote global warming hoax conspiracy theories.

1. Birthers are racists who are trying to get President Obama removed from office because he's black.

While many Birthers (people who believe that President Obama wasn't born in the United States) probably are racists, and that the conspiracy theory as a whole is fundamentally racist, some people actually accuse Birthers of making up the conspiracy theory simply to get President Obama kicked out of office because he is black.

The problem with this is that while it might actually be true for some, it might not be true that everyone who believes this conspiracy theory are just being racists who can't stand the thought of a black man as president, and there is really no proof for the most part that most of them don't actually believe what they claim.

The Three Categories of Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is a really big business, and is practiced around the world (in some places more than others).

In some place in the world it might be practiced because the people there either can't afford modern medicine, or more likely they either just can't get access to modern medicine, or they feel they have no need for modern medicine because they have been taught that their local folk medicine works. In other places in the world it could be just simply that they don't trust pharmaceutical companies.

So back at the subject at hand, alternative medicine can be basically categorized into three different types:

Ineffective

While many people might say that no forms of alternative medicine work, there are in fact a few that do work to some extent, they just don't do to the extent that many of the practitioners of that alternative medicine claims, and that there are more effective (and sometimes cheaper) conventional medical practices that can be done.

Examples of this would be acupuncture, chiropractic therapy, and even vitamin supplements can be categorized into this group, and that is if these things done correctly, otherwise some of these things could be not effective at all, or even dangerous.

It should also be noted that this is the smallest category for alternative medicines as most alternative medical practices are like the next two categories.

Non-effective

This is the largest of the three alternative medicine categories as simply put, almost all alternative medical practices just do not work at all, and is mainly based off of anecdotal evidence, rather than real, scientific evidence.

Some of the (many) examples of this type of alternative medicine are Reiki therapy, crystal healing, naturopathy, certain alternative cancer and HIV treatments, and biggest of all, homeopathy.

While non-effective alternative medicine is not outright harmful, in some cases (such as with alternative cancer and HIV treatments) it is indirectly harmful because whomever is taking the "alternative treatments" and foregoing the proven, real medical treatments, is basically killing themselves.

Dangerous

While all forms of alternative medicine could be considered dangerous in their own ways, there are some forms of alternative medicine that really is harmful and dangerous if you use it, and can lead to permanent injuries, and even death.

Some examples of this are salt water flushes, colloidal silver (if used in excessive amounts), herd immunity, and reparative therapy have all been proven to be harmful, and in some cases, illegal (although usually if it is used on a minor, but sometimes some of these things are illegal for anyone to use).

Conspiracy Theorists and Fascist Thinking: Do the Two go Hand-in-Hand?

Conspiracy theorists have been called many things throughout the years, but one of the things that they have commonly been called (and to many skeptics, accurately called) Fascists.

Now one of the things that made me start think about this claim is a question that I thought to myself "why do so many skeptics tend to call conspiracy theorists 'Fascists' when so many conspiracy theorists claim to opposes Fascism to begin with?" In fact many conspiracy theorists claim to support Libertarianism (or at least something that isn't anything like Fascism), rather than Fascism.

Finally after going to multiple conspiracy theorist websites and reviewing the comments left on those websites, and articles on those websites themselves I have finally come to the conclusion as to why conspiracy theorists are accused of having a Fascist mentality: They have a "Us vs. Them" way of thinking, and they believe that only they are correct.

Conspiracy theorists will claim that they want their "theories" to be given equal consideration and be on equal levels with what is official, but from what I have observed with their behaviors, that isn't true. They don't want their theories to be given equal ground, they want their theories to be considered "fact" (even after the fact that their claims have been discredited and dis-proven), and what is official and actually proven to be true to be seen as a big lie, because in their minds it is a big lie, and they don't want others to think otherwise. In fact it very seriously angers them when someone questions their "theories" (hypothesis would be a more accurate word) or has tested their "theories" and have proven them to be false.

Not only do conspiracy theorists tell other conspiracy theorists (and those curious about conspiracy theories) not to trust the information from reliable sources, they will insult you, question your intelligence, call you a "sheep" (at the very least), and basically try to use intimidation tactics to try to force you over to their side, if you question their "information".

Another thing that many conspiracy theorists will do is that (if the have the ability to do so) they will remove comments that offend them on websites when they can. In fact one famous Youtube vlogger and conspiracy theorist by the name of Christopher Hudson is notorious for this, often times blocking any comments that are in any way critical of his videos. Of course he isn't the only one either, but one example of many people on Youtube, or Facebook, or any individual blogs that promote conspiracy theories and don't allow people to question them.

Sometimes this goes even further then that by not only dis-allowing criticism on their own turf, but sometimes trying to get any criticism of their beliefs removed the internet entirely. They do this either through the use of threats and harassment, to actually trying to have a website shut down.

These are just few of examples of many of the actions and thinking that many conspiracy theorists tend to have and do, but there are many more than just what has been stated.

The reality is that these conspiracy theorists have, as a result of their self-delusions and frustrations over not being able to get the positive attention that they believe their "theories" deserve, they have basically become what they are claiming to fight.

Blaming Video Games... Again

After the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary many people began looking for someone, or something, to blame (most likely because the killer (and I will not mention his name in this article) took his own life and the public wants some sort of sense of justice) and there are a lot of things they are blaming.

While the main focus of "blame" is on gun control laws and improving mental health care, people are also focusing their blame on videos games (just like they did after the Columbine massacre).

The particular is on violent video games, and while the killer did play video games in high school, it's not clear if he played video games into his adulthood, nor is it known if he played violent video games.

Even if the killer did play violent video games for hours on end, it doesn't mean that it caused the killer to take his mother's guns, go to a nearby school, and murder a bunch of kids and teachers. He probably would have done it anyways regardless of if he never watched any type of violent media what so ever.

If video games caused young people to become violent killers, then there would be more school shootings then there really are (and by the way, the media does tend to sensationalize this stuff. School shootings are actually very rare) because lots of teenagers play violent video games. In fact I played violent video games with my friends when I was a teenager, and it never made any of us violent. If anything those games kept us from going out and getting into trouble.

Video games do not cause people to become violent. What causes people to become violent is either long term exposure to real violence (not imaginary violence), psychological issues, drug addiction, or a combination of two or all three.

The reality is that video games (and also music, movie, and television, which are also some things that some people are claiming influenced the killer to do what he did) do not cause people to become violent, and there is no evidence that it does, and by all appearances this is nothing more then a moral panic by people who think that seeing fictional violence will cause kids to commit real violence, much like how some people back in the 1980's believed that playing Dungeons & Dragons would cause teenagers to convert to paganism and Satanism, or that reading Harry Potter would cause kids to start practicing witchcraft.

No video game in the world, no matter how violent it is, is going to influence someone to go out and kill a bunch of people, the same as keeping kid away from any exposure to violence is going to keep them from becoming a psychopath that kills a bunch of people.

One more note: Most video games are violent, be it either cartoonish, or realistic. Heck, the first video game I ever played, Super Mario Bros, would be considered violent, but it never caused to want to go and jump on top of people's heads and throw fire balls at them. If any negative things happened to me from playing video games then it would be that I would sometimes play them for hours on end (much like many people do today).