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The Twenty-eighth Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle

The Twenty-eight Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle has come to order at Unused and Probably Unusable, and Eh Nonymous has done a great job at gathering the best examples of skeptical blogging from the last two weeks into, of all things, a courtroom scene:

WHEREFORE the 28th Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle was convened on February 16, 2006, with the customary formalities…

ALL RISE!

Hear ye, hear ye! This court is now in session, the Reasonable Judge Eh Nonymous presiding. All ye who have business before this Skeptical court, draw near.

Good day to you, counselors. Let me remind everyone that this is not a general subject matter political/social/legal blogfests, where any issue whatsoever is ripe for decision. Appropriate topics are those issues where testable data can produce reasoned conclusions.

Let us have a moment of respect, if we can, for the Amazing Randi, who at last word was recovering from surgery after a bypass operation.

We have some fascinating topics on today’s schedule, including holistic treatments for dogs, a submission on dowsing, and a great many posts relating to the War On Vaccination. And let me note, while this Court is necessarily neutral in the conflict over Church & State, those who appear before it are not required to be, and generally feel that where religion seeks the privileged status of overruling scientific proof in matters of objective fact, it is out of order.

Nicely done.
Next up is The Huge Entity on March 2, and it’s never too early to get those entries in. The schedule for upcoming Skeptics’ Circles, along with submission guidelines, can be found here. As always, I’d like to put out a call for volunteers to host future editions of the Circle. If you’re interested and think you’ve got what it takes, drop me a line at [email protected], and I’ll find you a place on the schedule.

By Orac

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski.

That this particular surgeon has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 35 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER:: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: [email protected]

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