All posts tagged: skeptical

Judge Cannon skeptical of defense’s argument in Trump’s classified documents case

Judge Cannon skeptical of defense’s argument in Trump’s classified documents case

Donald Trump was present at a hearing in Florida on Thursday for his classified documents case, but he said nothing in his own defense, allowing his legal team to present a number of arguments on his behalf that Judge Aileen Cannon didn’t seem to be buying. According to NBC News‘ blow-by-blow coverage, Cannon “appeared skeptical” of Trump’s lawyers’ pushing for the case to be dismissed based on the Presidential Records Act, with attorney Todd Blanche arguing that “presidents since George Washington have taken materials out of the White House” at “their own discretion,” to which the judge responded with, “It’s difficult to see how this gets you to the dismissal of an indictment.” And when Blanche tried to blame the case on the National Archives and Records Administration, Cannon shot that down as “a red herring.” “NARA is not sitting at the table over there,” Cannon added regarding the above, saying she will be ruling on the motions “promptly.” Trump, who faces 40 criminal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, commented on the hearing via a post to Truth Social, …

Judge skeptical of lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s X over hate speech research

Judge skeptical of lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s X over hate speech research

Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Benjamin Fanjoy/AP hide caption toggle caption Benjamin Fanjoy/AP Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Benjamin Fanjoy/AP A federal judge in San Francisco appears poised to toss a lawsuit brought by Elon’s Musk’s X against a nonprofit that found the platform allowed hate speech to spread on the site once known as Twitter. Last year, lawyers for X sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate, claiming the group improperly scraped X to prepare damning reports about the proliferation of hate speech on the site. But in a hearing over Zoom on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer appeared highly skeptical of the case, devoting the majority of the proceeding to grilling Musk’s lawyer over why the lawsuit was brought at all. Jon Hawk, X’s lawyer, said at core the suit is about honoring data security agreements to protect the platform’s …

Skeptical Heroes Unite: CSICon 2023

Skeptical Heroes Unite: CSICon 2023

The first CSICon I attended was in Nashville in 2012, and my goal was to meet my skeptical hero, Scott Lilienfeld. The next year I brought my son to CSICon in Seattle with the goal of meeting our shared hero, Bill Nye. In 2018, I spoke for the first time as part of CSICon’s Sunday Morning Papers in Las Vegas, with thanks to another hero, Ray Hall. And for CSICon 2023, I now get to report on the conference for the first time due to another hero of mine, Barry Karr. If you already read my editor’s note in this SI issue, then you know I’m really leaning into the hero theme. I acknowledge that this theme can come off a bit cheesy, but it’s really how I feel about all these skeptical inquirers (and I know I’m not alone). For your sake, though, I’ll stop adding the word hero before every name mentioned, but please know that the following presenters regularly inspire me, which is the true definition of a hero. The first day …

The Highs and Lows of Skeptical Education

The Highs and Lows of Skeptical Education

As a psychologist and former college professor, I’m always drawn to the CSICon talks about teaching, because so many of the skills needed to combat the onslaught of crazy stuff in the world do not come naturally. You have to learn them. Education is the key to separating the wheat from the chaff—or the woo from the crap. This year there was a wonderful superabundance of talks about child development and education, ranging from infancy to college. Below are my summaries of the best nuggets from four of these talks.   Stephen Hupp Debuts as New Editor of Skeptical Inquirer Stephen Hupp Psychologist Stephen Hupp appeared on the CSICon main stage for the first time as the new editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and gave a hilarious and informative talk on pop psychology myths. Hupp’s talk was scheduled well before he knew he would be the editor of SI, but he used the first few minutes of his time to acknowledge people who had preceded and inspired him. Most importantly, he recognized the legacy and …

Trump endorses Michael Whatley to lead the RNC, as some Republicans skeptical

Trump endorses Michael Whatley to lead the RNC, as some Republicans skeptical

WASHINGTON (AP) — In pushing Michael Whatley as the next leader of the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump zeroed in on the North Carolina GOP chairman’s dedication to “election integrity,” baselessly suggesting he would ensure the 2024 race “can’t be stolen.” Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters in Whatley’s home state would, no doubt, like a word. Whatley has been accused by some Republicans of essentially manufacturing his win as state party chairman last year following a chaotic vote, which resulted in a legal challenge that offered evidence some ballots were improperly cast. While Whatley and his allies acknowledged that technical problems made voting with the party’s mobile app difficult, they vehemently deny that the irregularities changed the outcome of the contest and note that the lawsuit was dismissed. But for some conservatives, primed by years of Trump urging vigilance against voter fraud, the episode instilled a suspicion that the party contest was stolen by a Washington Beltway fixture whose work for the George W. Bush administration and as a lobbyist they viewed skeptically. “I …

Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to kick Trump off the ballot

Supreme Court skeptical of efforts to kick Trump off the ballot

Last Updated: February 08, 2024 02:57 PM Published: February 08, 2024 06:00 AM Share Listen to the arguments in full By The Associated Press Share Oral arguments kicked off at 1:37:35 in the AP’s livestream below. The fate of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to return to the White House is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Live updates: bit.ly/3T0EJbr Colorado’s Republican Party chair is confident Trump will be on the ballot Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party Dave Williams speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Dave Williams, chair of the Colorado Republican Party, said he is confident the court will rule against what he cast as “ridiculous and novel legal theories to try and engage in election interference.” And he says that he looks “forward to seeing Donald Trump on the ballot in Colorado.” Colorado Sec. of State says it’s ‘striking’ to be discussing this case steps away from the U.S. Capitol Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold speaks in …

Judges skeptical of Trump immunity claim; Austin cancer surgery : NPR

Judges skeptical of Trump immunity claim; Austin cancer surgery : NPR

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories Former President Donald Trump made a rare appearance yesterday before three U.S. Court of Appeals judges in Washington to make the case that he is immune from federal prosecution on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump’s lawyers argued his official acts as a president shouldn’t be prosecuted unless he is impeached and convicted first. Former President Donald Trump reacts to supporters during a commit to caucus rally, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption toggle caption Charlie Neibergall/AP Former President Donald Trump reacts to supporters during a commit to caucus rally, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP All three judges seemed dubious about siding with Trump, NPR’s Carrie Johnson tells Up First. One asked Trump’s attorney, Dean John Sauer, if he believed a president could be charged with a …

Is Bigfoot Dead? | Skeptical Inquirer

Is Bigfoot Dead? | Skeptical Inquirer

Twenty years ago, in this magazine I wrote an overview of the evidence for Bigfoot. Titled “Bigfoot at 50: A Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence,” it was meant to give skeptics and layfolk alike a concise overview of the variety and quality of evidence proffered to date for the existence of the elusive bipedal creature said to roam North America. The birth of Bigfoot (as a phenomenon, if not as a corporal creature) is complex and closely linked with its Canadian cousin Sasquatch (see, for example, Loxton and Prothero 2013 and Regal 2011). How long Bigfoot has been around is of course unknowable; the fifty years mentioned in the original piece was a rough estimate including a seminal December 1959 True magazine article describing the discovery of large, mysterious footprints the year before in Bluff Creek, California. They turned out to have been the work of Ray Wallace, who is acknowledged to have made countless hoaxed tracks, using various carved wooden feet, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Though there were others at the time, the Bluff …

A Skeptical Approach to Guilt and Innocence in the Judicial Realm

A Skeptical Approach to Guilt and Innocence in the Judicial Realm

The criminal justice system, in theory, must be impartial. The only admissible considerations within the system, in theory, are intended to derive from a dispassionate weighing of facts in evidence. This dispassionate, logical approach—deriving in many ways from Enlightenment philosophy—is frequently taken for granted, at least implicitly. Yet the realm of criminal justice is fraught with anomalies, many of which have their roots in human psychology rather than in the abstractions of legal theory. Major cases attest to this fact. The Scott Peterson criminal trial of 2004, in which Peterson’s pregnant wife was murdered, resulted in Peterson’s conviction for the crime despite there being no direct physical evidentiary connection from the crime to Peterson. The Wesson multiple murder of Marcus Wesson’s own children in Central California, also in 2004, did provide direct evidentiary connections, but some specific connections were incompletely or inaccurately conveyed to the jury. The juries convicted. Such anomalies pose some difficulty because the proceedings in criminal investigations and trials are supposed to be based, quite literally, on skeptical inquiry. In line with …

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Elects Twelve New Fellows for 2023

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Elects Twelve New Fellows for 2023

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) is pleased to announce the election of twelve new fellows based on their distinguished contributions to science and skepticism. Fellows serve as consultants and ambassadors, helping accomplish the mission of CSI. Election is based upon the following criteria: Outstanding contribution to a scientific discipline, preferably, though not restricted to, in a field related to the skeptical movement; Outstanding contribution to the communication of science and/or critical thinking; or Outstanding contribution to the skeptical movement. Here are the new fellows: Clark R. Chapman, planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute (retired), Boulder, Colorado. Chapman is an astronomer known for his work on potentially hazardous asteroids. He is the cofounder of the B612 Foundation and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His books include The Inner Planets (1977), Planets of Rock and Ice (1982), and Cosmic Catastrophes (1989). In 1999, he was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. Jerry A. Coyne, professor emeritus, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. Coyne …