Dr. Joan Bushwell's Chimpanzee Refuge

Super Tuesday. As much fun as a barrel of…

Posted by Dr. Joan Bushwell on February 5, 2008
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i-1c9cdcac7819fdced3a495e9f39ebfc2-funny-pictures-congress-monkeys.jpg

Frankly, I think the Pan troglodytes pictured here could do a better job than some of our congress critters, but never mind that cheap shot of a slippery banana peel. However, I wonder if our presidential candidates could identify the genus and species of our close primate cousins or if they could estimate the percent of homology at the DNA level between humans and chimps? Perhaps those are not burning scientific issues for a presidential candidate to consider but certainly there are others which are scorching hot. With that in mind, the Science Debate 2008 is rolling right along.

Yesterday, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine joined American Academy for the Advancement of Science and the Council on Competitiveness as official cosponsors of Science Debate 2008.

This kind of co-sponsorship adds to the heavyweights already on the growing list of those calling for such a debate – the first of its kind for a US presidential election. Let’s make this happen!

And yes, I voted today. The polls were quiet in my particular spot in Einsteinville. A WTF moment occurred when a voter rolled in on a red, white and blue Segway.

Thanks to Rhapsody for the chimp photo via that Icanhascheezburger, cheezburger, cheezburger site.

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  1. #1 JimFiore
    February 5, 2008

    Turn out seems to be heavy here in NY, at least in my tiny little sub-burp. I was number 135 at 6 PM and for many primaries I’d be around 60 or 70 at that time.

  2. #2 Marta
    February 6, 2008

    That picture is simply made of win – you had me chuckling. As for Super Tuesday, my primaries aren’t for another month, so it’s felt a bit eerie to have just another day when most of the nation is deciding on their candidates.

    In all fairness, I don’t think I could name the scientific name of our closest relative. As I am not a zoologist, or even particularly sciencey, I only know the types of basic scientific principles you’d learn in a solid high school and (non-science major) university education. The difference is that I know I don’t know enough about science – I leave that to the experts. Would that our next president, whoever s/he is, could select advisors based on that rather than political and/or ideological concerns. :-S

  3. #3 skishnan
    February 6, 2008

    Bonobos, Left & Right
    Primate Politics Heats Up Again as
    Liberals & Conservatives Spindoctor Science
    by Frans de Waal

    This article should be read to find out whether it is about politics or science or both. In anycase, since we are talking primate photos here, the website with the article has a good photo of bonobos. Check that out.
    http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-08-08.html

  4. #4 Doc Bushwell
    February 7, 2008

    Would that our next president, whoever s/he is, could select advisors based on that rather than political and/or ideological concerns. :-S

    Exactly, Marta! The track record for the current administration has been quite dismal in that regard. Let’s hope this improves with the next administration. Perhaps the Science Debate 2008 will help emphasize the need for more objective appointments although I must admit I remain cynical about such.

    This article should be read to find out whether it is about politics or science or both.

    Dr. K! Many thanks for linking this – a deliciously pointed article from my favorite primatologist!

  5. #5 Bill from Dover
    February 8, 2008

    Pretty sad when one has to sue the EPA to get em to do their fuckin’ job let alone preventing you from doing yours!

  6. #6 Rob J
    February 12, 2008

    You support an organization which excluded Ron Paul from speaking. This in itself is against science at it’s core.
    Science is the search for truth. All science must include all circumstance. No ommission or fact or possible fact.
    If by your own action you create an outcome then your science is flawed.
    You know this!!!!!
    So don’t complain. You brought it on yourself. Let Dr. and I repeat DOCTOR Ron Paul speak. You may not agree with him, but science seeks truth and required all the facts to make a decision. Otherwise you live in belief and religion and not fact.
    Look to your own for the problem and see your error of observation. You call yourself a scientist? hmmmmmmmmm
    “..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority to set brush fires in people’s minds.”
    — Samuel Adams
    “With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. Consequently he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions.” — Abraham Lincoln
    “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell
    “The state can’t give you free speech, and the state can’t take it away. You’re born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free…”
    — Utah Phillips

    quixotic quest

  7. #7 JimFiore
    February 12, 2008

    I think it would be more fair to say that a lack of Ron Paul supporters is what excluded him. I preferred Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich over any of the front runners, but I also understand the application of basic arithmetic to the concept of “viable”.