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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Blair Does God, Tackles the Impossible *

May 30th, 2008 | Filed by

Blair wants to devote the rest of his life to promoting understanding between the world’s religions. … Read the rest



ACLU Joins FLDS Parents *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Backs parents’ rights over children’s rights.… Read the rest



FLDS Dissent Says Teenage Girls at Risk *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Dissenting opinion in FLDS ruling says teenage girls remain at risk because of pattern of sexual abuse.… Read the rest



AI Condemns Detentions in Egypt *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Amnesty International says about 18,000 are in jail in Egypt without being charged or put on trial. … Read the rest



Amnesty Slams Egypt for Illegal Detentions *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Report said conditions in which detainees are held are cruel; hundreds were reportedly ill with TB, other diseases.… Read the rest



Amnesty Urges Iran to Overturn Sentences *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Convictions of six women’s rights defenders should be overturned on appeal.… Read the rest



Stone Apologizes for Karma Remark *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

Dior has won the affection and respect of the consuming public in China.… Read the rest



Texas Supreme Court Rules in FLDS Case *

May 29th, 2008 | Filed by

The children must be returned to their parents.… Read the rest



The End of Political Pandering on Religion? *

May 28th, 2008 | Filed by

No.… Read the rest



Science Can’t Prove Nothin’ *

May 28th, 2008 | Filed by

Can’t prove a house is beautiful, so why make mediums warn their customers?… Read the rest



Save the Children on Abuse by Peacekeepers *

May 28th, 2008 | Filed by

The report shows sexual abuse has been widely underreported because children are afraid to come forward.… Read the rest



Repressive Law Renewed Instead of Reforms *

May 28th, 2008 | Filed by

Egyptian government’s abrupt extension of the state of emergency shows contempt for the rule of law.… Read the rest



Sayed Pervez Kambaksh May Be Safe *

May 27th, 2008 | Filed by

Hamid Karzai has privately assured Kambaksh’s campaign team that he will be freed.… Read the rest



Another Agnostic Pipes Up *

May 27th, 2008 | Filed by

It is music in general that must be tossed out when you refuse to appreciate religion. Eh?… Read the rest



Jeff Sharlet Reads Martha Nussbaum *

May 27th, 2008 | Filed by

Strengthening the hand of the theocons by underestimating the scope of the Christian nationalist challenge. … Read the rest



Normblog on the ‘Post-left’ *

May 27th, 2008 | Filed by

Are apologists for Islamism more unleft than were apologists for Stalinism? No.… Read the rest



Radicalism as Reaction *

May 27th, 2008 | Filed by

The revolution was repressive from its start, flawed with a programmatic illiberalism and anti-intellectualism.… Read the rest



What Shameless Repetition *

May 26th, 2008 | Filed by

Repetition can make promotional testimony seem eerily quantitative.… Read the rest



Passing for a Hagiographer of Freud *

May 26th, 2008 | Filed by

The well-documented fabrications and fudges in Freud’s early case studies go unmentioned. … Read the rest



Gene Robinson and Christopher Hitchens *

May 26th, 2008 | Filed by

Robinson is patently kind and sincere, but he’s wrong; Hitchens can be rude and combative, but he’s right.… Read the rest