Hey Slate, Don't Quit Your Day Job

I was just commenting last night how Slate was beginning to roil me. Here they go again.

I went to the Human Nature section, which usually has a few interesting tidbits about some biological debate or bizarre health problem. But I suppose even that section has now turned into another grossly unsupported opinion section.

Today's headline, "Goodbye, Mother Nature: The decline of pregnancy, and the death of menstruation," leaves me wondering just what it's going for. Does Slate have any idea just how many women take birth control pills? Women use the pill like someone would use vitamins. Perhaps if they're going to hint that birth control pills will both kill us all and lead to the end of healthy offspring, they should back it up with a little something.

What does the small article say? It says doctors are increasingly doling out the pill, and maybe it's not such a good idea to "fool Mother Nature." Yet, no scientific studies are cited to support this opinion. Slate writer William Saletan instead does it the old-fashioned way... he uses a pro/con list.

Number one on the list in favor of using the pill is "Periods suck." Good thinking, Slate. Man am I glad I took the time to read this article. It really puts things in perspective. It's almost too much information for me to take in at once.

Slate, I have figured you out. You are so popular because you feed on our dark human weaknesses. You post strange, salacious articles about sex, and you know that we will read it. You take popular subjects and put forth unpopular explanations, and you know that this sort of skepticism and snark is right up my alley. You mimic those sensational stories that you see in the grocery store at the cash register with headlines like, "Fifty Foot Jesus Appears in Montana Disguised in a Monkey Suit;" except your headlines are just believable enough that you get away with it.

It figures, you even wrote an article a few years ago on how the National Enquirer actually has more journalistic accuracy than people give it credit for.

I'm on to your game!