• After serving most of a ten-year prison sentence for tax evasion, Kent Hovind was due to be released next year… but now the government is pressing new charges, saying that he filed fraudulent liens in an attempt to stop them from seizing his property as part of the punishment for his original conviction.
• Virgin Galactic’s experimental rocket plane SpaceShipTwo crashed during a test flight in the Mojave Desert, killing one of its two pilots. It’s a tragic setback and a sobering reminder that nothing worth doing is free of risk. But we’re a young, brave species; the sky still calls to us, and we shall return.
• Here are some maps of the end of the world.
• The philosopher Harry Frankfurt observed that there’s a difference between lies and bullshit: the liar cares about the truth, if only to weave a more convincing deception, whereas the bullshitter says whatever serves his interests at that moment, with no concern for whether it’s true or even whether it’s consistent with what he’s said in the past.
• I wrote a while back about how Ken Ham’s creationism-pushing “Ark Park” was going to get a sweetheart tax deal from Kentucky. But now, with the entirely predictable revelation that the park only plans to hire evangelical Christians who subscribe to a lengthy statement of faith, the state is doing the right thing and pulling the tax breaks, making it even less likely that the already-troubled project will ever be completed.
• “Men’s rights activists” counterfeit the website of the White Ribbon Campaign, a legitimate anti-domestic-violence group, in a bid to trick people into giving them donations.
• A costume company is selling a “sexy Ph.D” getup for Halloween. Amazon reviewers rip it apart, mercilessly and hilariously.
• In another advance in tissue engineering, biologists grow tiny, functional human stomachs in the lab from stem cells. The day isn’t far off when we’ll be able to grow replacement organs on demand.
• [Video] Racism insurance: Don’t leave home without it. From the makers of the excellent movie “Dear White People”.
• And for you Americans, don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!