Link round-up for 4 June 2011

Joplin tornado victims get jumbo-sized help.

Yog-Blogsoth features Lovecraftian artwork (found via Mendip).

Speaking of Cthulhoid abominations, the Queen encounters yet another Philip Treacy hat.

Product shrinkage can be subtle.

Religion promotes illogical thinking.

It's nuts vs. nuts as the KKK protests the Westboro Baptist Church (sent by Ranch Chimp).

David Futrelle fisks an MRA apocalypse manifesto, with bonus pictures of imaginary women.

Palin's bus tour is political theater designed to distract us from her critics (it's also distracting everyone from serious Republicans).

Got rid of your navbar to protect your blog? Here's how to restore the search function.

Thief steals computer; owner remotely turns computer's camera on; thief gets pictures of himself all over the net (and gets caught).

A Michigan superintendent has a novel plan to get more funding for his school.

Why are there so many atheist librarians?

Today is the anniversary of the battle of Midway, the turning point of World War II in the Pacific (link found via Mendip).

The power of faith claims another victim -- two-year-old Jezaih King.

Green Eagle analyzes the Republican "jobs plan" and finds pretty much what you'd expect -- more money and privilege for those who already have too much of both. The real focus of Republican energy is opposing gays and abortion (part of the Christian Right war on women's freedom) -- certainly not small government.

Gay issues are where the left and right are furthest apart. Here's an example of Republican hostility (sent by Mendip).

Business-friendly? Hah. Wisconsin Republicans are now attacking independent breweries.

To liberal Christians: beliefs aren't the problem, organizations are.

A President's re-election chances correlate with the trend in (not level of) unemployment.

It's not just that tax rates are low -- federal tax revenues as a per- centage of GDP are the lowest in over 60 years. 50% of the swing from Clinton's surpluses to the present deficit came from Bush-era tax cuts.

Marriage may need to change in order to survive.

This book looks like a must-read -- the very title is invigorating.

How has Obama been so successful at fighting illegal immigration? By targeting employers.

Joseph Cannon has been studying the Weiner case in depth -- see his posts here, here, here, and most recently here; he addresses the "why doesn't Weiner sue" question here. Follow the story on his blog. Gennette Cordova's statement is here, with a misleading headline, as Green Eagle points out (more MSM irresponsibility here). Update: Here's a good summary of the whole issue.

The spread of Islam to the US brings honor killings in its wake.

Religions aren't all equally dangerous, but they're all equally wrong.

If Ohioans could re-do the 2010 election now, teabagger governor John Kasich would lose almost 2-to-1.

Romney accepts the science on anthropogenic global warming, but House Republicans are still fighting efforts to prepare for it.

Republican candidates attack each other for not being crazy enough.

A Bachmann Presidential run won't get much home-state support.

Doctors in the US have many reasons for moving to the left. And they rejoice at the recent end of a prominent source of medical misinformation (found via Preliator pro Causa).

Here's why abortion needs to be taught in medical school.

Oregon's Ron Wyden takes a lonely stand for internet freedom.

The future is what we make it -- not a pre-determined path.

Republicans are in a bind -- their plan to get rid of Medicare is so unpopular that they're now reduced to trying to blame it on the Democrats.

A majority of every demographic group -- even Republicans -- opposes the Ryan plan (one part of the Republican base is even more hostile than liberals), and it's likely to become even more unpopular, dooming Republican politicians (but Democrats could still blow it by compromising). Contrary to their claims, it would harm those already over 55. Ryan himself is begging Democrats not to use the issue, but our side is having none of that.

A conservative radio station shows how to interview politicians.

What is it with big-shot bankers and luxury-hotel maids? New York police make another sexual-assault arrest.

The co-owner of Fox News has his reasons for wanting the US dependent on Saudi oil.

Chris Christie will reimburse the state for his personal use of an official helicopter (but he's a piker compared with this bunch).

Violent crime plummets in the US and Europe, but not every place is equally lucky.

The conservative mania for cuts threatens the future of higher education in Britain.

German Catholic anti-gay quackery gains nothing in translation.

A report from 2015 describes how the European debt crisis was resolved -- by Greece sticking up for itself.

The truth about Ireland's religious history is coming out.

In the Netherlands, a tiny fundamentalist party obstructs efforts to get rid of an antiquated blasphemy law (found via Republic of Gilead).

British intelligence hacks an al-Qâ'idah website, replacing bomb- making instructions with cupcake recipes.

Some Europeans recognize the threat which out-of-control market forces pose to democracy (though the undemocratic EU is almost as big a threat).

The French élite's reflexive support for Dominique Strauss-Kahn triggers a ground-breaking feminist reaction (but the New York Times could use some reaction too).

Under public pressure, the German government plans to phase out nuclear power by 2022.

Geert Wilders's closing statement at his trial was a resounding defense of free speech.

In Australia, a massive counter-protest neutralizes Christian objections to a gay-themed ad campaign.

Continuing abuse of women shows that the Egyptian revolution still has a lot further to go.

Muslim terrorists bomb a vaccine warehouse in Nigeria.

As India rises, young Indians who studied in the US return to seek opportunity.

Global warming is already changing how we live -- and that's a political wake-up call.

It's very unlikely that cell phones cause cancer, and everyday life is full of much greater threats.

Robert the Skeptic analyzes his horoscope and finds nothing but the usual generalities and cold-reading gimmicks.

Boo hoo, my car doesn't understand me.

We used to think only bacteria lived miles underground, but now an animal has been discovered there (found via Mendip).

California scientists turn one type of human cell into another without an intermediate stem-cell stage -- a step toward easier growing of personalized organs.