People on the Left who despise liberalism, reason, science, progress, and the Enlightenment.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Oprah Winfrey is Promoting a Vaccine Skeptic 
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Jenny McCarthy’s campaign spreads misinformation that could bring back once-controlled diseases.… Read the rest
Melanie Phillips is All ‘It’s a Secular Inquisition!’
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Everyone who said she was wrong about ID is so totally wrong.… Read the rest
Martin on Fish on Eagleton on God
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In the new war against Enlightenment liberalism, pro-faith Marxists and post-modern relativists unite.… Read the rest
ASA Ruling on Duchy Originals: Complaint Upheld
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The ad must not appear again in its current form. Duchy told not to make claims they could not substantiate.… Read the rest
Reproof to Costly Duchy Detox Tinctures
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Regulator found Duchy advert breached the code in substantiation, truthfulness and medicinal claims.… Read the rest
Stuck With ‘National Prayer Day’
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US Congress in 1988 set date for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray. … Read the rest
Maine Governor Signs Gay Marriage Bill
May 6th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Maine’s Senate voted 21-13 in support of a bill that redefines marriage as the legal union of two people. … Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum: Islamic Liberalism Under Fire
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Liberal values are not tepid and centrist, but truly radical in a world of violence and quasi–fascist forces.… Read the rest
Ali Eteraz: Pakistan is Already an Islamic State
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pakistan’s flawed constitutional framework forces citizens to refer to their views on life through the lens of ‘Islam.’… Read the rest
David Bromwich on the Persistence of Empire
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We love the idea that we are good; that we have and practice the best way of life.… Read the rest
Why Do People Prefer Faith to Thought?
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The great discoveries were not made by those agog at the wonders of the divine, but by those intrigued by the wonders of the mundane.… Read the rest
Carl Zimmer on Flu Genes Furiously Evolving
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The current outbreak shows how complex and mysterious the evolution of viruses is.… Read the rest
Rosenhouse on Fish on Eagleton on God
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Now here comes that most odius and content-free New York Times columnist, Stanley Fish…’… Read the rest
Holbo on Fish on Eagleton on God
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Don’t they teach irony in the English department any more? Holbo thinks they should.… Read the rest
Myers on Eagleton on God
May 5th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ditchkins has made the ghastly error of failing to write The Eagleton Delusion or Eagleton Is Not Great.… Read the rest
Media Can’t Resist a Good Panic Story
May 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The problem is, there is no panic story.… Read the rest
Cognitive Science for Teachers
May 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Abstract thinking is not something our brains are designed to be good at or to enjoy. … Read the rest
Who Would Be Female Under Islamic Law?
May 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is the kind of Muslim woman who maddens reactionary Muslim men and their asinine female followers. … Read the rest
Delara Darabi: Oh Mother, I Can See the Noose
May 4th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rights groups inside and outside Iran reacted with horror as news of the secret hanging seeped out.… Read the rest
