Mike Dunford is a graduate student in the Department of Zoology at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, where he studies evolution. He's also a contributer to The Pandas Thumb. As is the case with everyone else here, his opinions are his own, and do not necessarily represent those of any organization he is affiliated with.
March 30, 2007
Via Pharyngula, I just learned what Catholic League president Bill Donohue is pissed about today - a life-size sculpture of Jesus made out of milk chocolate that is going on display in New York next week. According to Donohue,...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:11 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
They did some cool stuff, and got some cool results. How the results should be interpreted, on the other hand, is much more complex and will take a lot longer for scientists to work out.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 1:40 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 29, 2007
Today, there are way too many good stories to write about. We've got (in no particular order) mammal evolution in the news, a philosopher questioning the usefulness of lab courses, a good reminder of why local politics is important, a group of Congresscritters that think "prayer is the answer," everyone's favorite creationist surgeon acting like a five-year old, Senator Inhofe acting like, well, Senator Inhofe, and the United States Marine Corps being bloody stupid.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 4:54 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
According to widespread media (and blog) reports, the Bush administration is about to release a set of administrative rules changes that would "gut" the Endangered Species Act. Actually, "gut" really isn't descriptive enough to do justice to what they...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 4:04 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 28, 2007
It's been a few days since I've posted anything here, so I just wanted to toss a quick post up to let everyone know I'm still alive, and haven't abandoned the blog. I had a tooth abscess pop up...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 1:59 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 22, 2007
At yesterday's Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing, Senator James Inhofe challenged Gore to sign a "Personal Energy Ethics Pledge." Inhofe's antics are nothing new - the man's been opposed to a reality based reality for years...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 11:13 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
By this point, the name Michael Egnor should be familiar to readers of this blog - but if you need a reminder, he's the neurosurgeon who recently signed on to the staff of the Discovery Institute's Media Complaints blog....
Posted by Mike Dunford at 3:23 AM • 25 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 21, 2007
I've been kind of quiet the last couple of days - I've been dealing with an exam and a dental issue - so I didn't get into the whole Michael Egnor (aka The DI's Pet Neurosurgeon) linkfest. I agree...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 3:04 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 17, 2007
Dr. Michael Egnor is, once again, trying to explain why evolution isn't important to medicine. This time he's responding to Mark Chu-Carroll's post on Tautology. In his latest post, Egnor continues to challenge the conventional wisdom that an understanding...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 4:10 PM • 61 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
This post was originally written on 9 September 2005, and was posted over at the old place. It's relevant to a post that will be appearing shortly, so I'm moving it over here for convenience. I haven't edited the...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 3:29 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 16, 2007
Neurosurgeon and recent addition to the Discovery Institute's Media Complaints Division blog Dr. Michael Egnor is at it again. He's responded to Burt's latest response to his prior response to Burt's earlier response to his - you get the...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 7:22 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 15, 2007
After a great deal of thought, I decided that a large part of the discussion that had taken place in the comments thread of my post on pedophiles and the First Amendment had gone well beyond what I am...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 11:34 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I'm still not sure exactly where I stand on the whole religion thing, and I don't think I could describe my own views even at gunpoint. But I am comfortable saying this much: for at least some definitions of "spirituality," science and spirituality are compatible.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 5:57 AM • 19 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 14, 2007
When I put up my post the other day responding to a Salon article accusing Army doctors of inappropriately changing physical profiles to deploy more people, there were some things that I didn't make clear enough. I did not...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 6:32 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 13, 2007
This post contains commentary on an issue raised at another of the blogs on this network. The topic material involves pedophiles and first amendment rights, and is not suitable for all audiences. I know for a fact that it makes me feel pretty damn uncomfortable.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 11:09 PM • 36 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Molecular systematics is yet another one of those areas of evolutionary biology that is easy to misrepresent, and hard to understand. I'm going to (slowly) try to get posts up explaining the field in basic terms, starting with the basic vocabulary. This post is the first of the series, and will cover one of the most basic terms used: allele.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 6:32 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 12, 2007
For most people, knowledge of Army medical care probably begins and ends with two things: M*A*S*H* and the recent problems at Walter Reed. Both the old sitcom and the new example of how troops are really supported share one thing in common: they focus on the health care given to the wounded. Operational medicine focuses on something else - the health of (non-wounded) troops prior to, during, and after a deployment.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 10:08 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Right now, I'm just going to say a few things about the massive lack of skill demonstrated by Helen Benedict and her editors when they fact checked (or, more likely, didn't fact check) the women's health article.
Posted by Mike Dunford at 5:51 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
According to AP reports, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley has announced his resignation as Surgeon General and his retirement from the military. Kiley joins Army Secretary Francis Harvey and Walter Reed commander Maj. Gen. George Weightman in...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:05 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 10, 2007
If making pina coladas, first make extra certain that you have fully cleaned out all traces of the salsa you made yesterday from the blender....
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:55 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 9, 2007
In a major victory for Democratic netroots activists, the Nevada Democratic Party has reportedly pulled out of the August Democratic Presidential debate that they were co-sponsoring with the Fox "News" Channel. The move comes after extensive pressure from a...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 8:40 PM • 16 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
As almost everyone has already mentioned (there are perils to living in one of the last timezones before the dateline), today is P Zed Myers 50th birthday. Some, like Richard Dawkins) have done poems to celebrate the event, but...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:12 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 7, 2007
In addition to being a boundless resource for those seeking accidental humor, Conservapedia is also used as a resource by homeschooled children. "Lectures" for various "classes" are available on the site, and can easily be used to demonstrate the...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 8:02 PM • 76 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 6, 2007
Speaking of Lt. Gen. "Heckuvajob" Kiley, John Stewart has some nice things to say about him....
Posted by Mike Dunford at 3:28 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Two generals sat next to each other at yesterday's Congressional hearings on the Walter Reed problems. Both are physicians. Both have experience commanding Walter Reed since the beginning of combat in Iraq. There, the similarities end. One of them...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:56 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 5, 2007
Today, I'd like to single out two Congresscritters (and their staffs) for special recognition - Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative John Tierney (D-Ma), who chairs that committee's national...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 1:58 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
If you live in the US and pay any attention to the news, you've probably heard something about the situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A feature article in the February 18th edition of the Washington Post set...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 4:40 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
It looks like the administration is continuing to use one of their favorite tactics in the war on terror - handicap the defense by intimidating their lawyers before they get into the courtroom. Ed Brayton calls this the "Tonya...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 1:33 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 3, 2007
Last summer, Joe Lieberman showed his support for the Democratic party by continuing to run for the Senate after losing the Democratic primary. The Republicans reacted to this by pulling their support from their own candidate, paving the way...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 4:21 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Casey Luskin, over at the Discovery Institute's Media Complaints blog doesn't like the reaction that an Idaho crowd had to a PZ Myers quote. He believes that both Myers and the crowd were being intolerant. Here's the PZ quote...
Posted by Mike Dunford at 12:14 AM • 40 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 2, 2007
Go watch the Simpsons on grad student life....
Posted by Mike Dunford at 2:03 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
