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Come on (or out!), skeptics—we need you
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James Randi came out of the closet last month and I speak for the Association for Science and Reason when I say, “Congratulations, Randi!”

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Let’s get some movement in the movement
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I love that there is a skeptical ‘movement.’ I love knowing that there are like-minded people out there, compatriots with whom I can bitch and moan, hash out ideas, learn something, debate, and have some laughs. I love that here in Toronto we meet once a month at our Skeptics in the Pub event to do exactly these things. Having a movement provides a sense of belonging, of community — some might even say family.

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Science: It’s the law!
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I recently overheard something that no doubt many of us have heard in one form or another — that you can pay a heavy price for breaking the laws of nature. Since I wasn’t party to the conversation I resisted the urge to butt in, but there was definitely some squirming on my part.

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Religion was not born of fear
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“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.”
– Francis Bacon, Of Death

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Henry Gordon has died
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Skeptics across Canada and abroad have been saddened to hear of the death of a man who may be called the founder of this country’s skeptical movement.

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Natural Health Products Symposium protest
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On Sunday, November 29, early in the morning, Dave Bailey and I stood outside of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto to hand out brochures about homeopathy and display some clever signs decrying the Natural Health Products Symposium taking place inside.

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Pediatric chiropractic found to be mostly quackery in newspaper investigation
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Judy Matthews is an active 11-year-old girl who plays baseball and soccer. She is apparently happy and healthy. At least her mother thought so, until she took her daughter to a chiropractor in the Toronto area.

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Vaccines and autism: Is the message finally getting through?
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Most skeptics will be familiar with the unfortunately popular notion that there is a link between vaccinations and autism. For the most part we see it as a manufactured controversy that has had only negative effects, such as decreased confidence in science-based medicine, increased and misplaced confidence in alternative medicine, and the suffering and death of children who have not received vaccinations or have not been protected by herd immunity.

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Lies about Canadian health care
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As a rational Canadian watching the completely irrational American ‘debate’ on health care these past few months, I find that it would almost be funny if it weren’t so infuriating. As a skeptic, I can’t understand why other skeptical organizations/blogs/podcasts are not debunking the outright lies being promoted by anti-reformers, especially given the number of doctors in the skeptical movement.

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Common Myths Debunked
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There are so many common myths, misconceptions, and urban legends that it can be fun to learn about them and pass that knowledge on to others. Because they’re so ingrained in society—drilled into our heads from the time we’re children—we don’t know they’re untrue until we learn they are.

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