CBS news does good on the Iraqi magic wands | Bad Astronomy

On Monday night, CBS Evening News covered the arrest of the snake-oil salesman who was selling what he claimed are bomb-sniffing dowsing rods, but are in reality (gasp!) totally useless:

Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack (retired), interviewed in the show, is an old friend and friend of the JREF; if you’ve attended a TAM then you’ve seen him MC the event. He got in a couple of excellent sound bites!

And I guess I should be fair. The magic wands aren’t totally useless. They’re perfect for getting people blown up and killed. I’m sure the terrorists love them.

Related posts :
A double military victory!
When antiscience kills: dowsing edition
Hal Bidlack: Colorado’s next Congressman (and yeah, that didn’t work out as well as planned, but it’s worth reading for things Hal has said and done.)

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