Archives for October, 2012
The Sungudogo Page
Posted by Greg Laden on October 11, 2012 I have made a page for Sungudogo. This is the novel I wrote and will be releasing into the wild shortly. I’ll be deciding on a “release date” soon and I’ll let you know. In the mean time, if you want to get a feel for what the book is about, visit the Sungudogo Page!
The Problem Republicans Have With Science
Posted by Greg Laden on October 11, 2012 The juxtaposition of Nobel Prize season and the revelation of High Octane Crazy in the Republican Party in regards to science is examined by Rachel Maddow: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Interesting facts about the death penalty
Posted by Greg Laden on October 10, 2012 I knew a guy who had a simple answer to the whole Death Penalty thing. He’s hold is fingers, thumb and index finger, a short ways apart from each other like he had something in his grasp, and he’s say, “One bullet … costs about nine cents.” I have no idea how much a bullet…
Did Curiosity Find an Artifact on Mars?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 10, 2012 Quite possibly. Here’s a picture of it: There’s a pretty good chance that this is a manufactured object and not some natural thingie that formed on the surface of Mars by Mars-esque natural processes. But, if that’s true, then there’s a pretty good chance that the object, formed by an intelligent being, is just some…
Global Warming Kills People
Posted by Greg Laden on October 10, 2012 This has been known for years. It is very frustrating to see people ask questions like “well, what we don’t know is what will global warming do?” Global warming has done, already, quite a bit and it is insulting to our collective intelligence and an affront to the families of those who have died from…
Important, some scary, comparisons across data 4 ur amusement
Posted by Greg Laden on October 10, 2012 This morning, my inbox had a handful of interesting data that are totally unconnected to each other, each interesting in its own right, and together, a veritable potpourri of bloggyness. So, here goes: First, Don Prothero at Skeptiblog has written one of those posts you want to keep handy next time you need to refer…
Black people have ruined it for everyone?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 9, 2012 The evidence that if you are a Republican you are a member of a club that you should be embarrassed to be a member of mounts. In this case, Jon Hubbard and Loy Mauch of Arkansas speak out in favor of slavery and blame African Americans for the results of institutional racism.
Did Science Denialist David Schnare Break Ethics Rules In His Attack On Michael Mann?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 9, 2012 David Schnare is a climate change denier, right-wing activist, and lawyer, and he works for the conservative “free market” think tank American Tradition Institute (ATI). Evidence has come to light suggesting that Schnare acted unethically during the course of a recently settled legal battle over access to private emails exchanged among university based climate scientists.…
Using Homeopathy To Treat Intestinal Woes, Domestic Violence, and Everything
Posted by Greg Laden on October 8, 2012 I knew this guy, can’t remember his name, who practiced a combination of naturopathy and homeopathy (they are different) along with a few other suspicious arts, back in the 1970s. Other than the white muumuu that he usually wore, I remember two things about him. I remember that a few years before I ever laid…
Climate Science in Schools: the Next Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on October 8, 2012 NCSE executive director Genie Scott chats with polar explorer Will Steger about their experiences and perspectives on climate change education. Steger is an educator and author of several books on his expeditions and environmental issues, including climate change. Where: University of Minnesota.
That Columbus Day is Evil: A truth and a falsehood
Posted by Greg Laden on October 8, 2012 Columbus Day has become a holiday of disdain, and there are many people who feel it should be taken off the books. It is a little like the Martin Luther King Jr. day maneno in reverse. If you were a progressive thoughtful American you’d have supported having a state-wide Martin Luther King Jr. day, and…
Gay-Linked Group Banned From Community Parade: Petition
Posted by Greg Laden on October 7, 2012 
On July 9th, 2012, Anoka High School student Justin Aaberg committed suicide. Here in Minnesota, when a kid commits suicide we don’t talk about it; often the other kids in the school are never told. There’s just a funeral service and a yearbook page but no discussion, no action, no response. But, Justin was one…
This is why Republicans are scary dangerous, and separation of church and state is so important
Posted by Greg Laden on October 7, 2012 Watch the following video without reading any context. Listen to what the guy says. Note that he says that evolution and embryology are lies from hell. Note that he claims that these lies have one purpose: To keep us from knowing that we need a savior. Note that he claims that the earth was create…
Jean Philippe Rushton is Dead
Posted by Greg Laden on October 6, 2012 No matter how much one may have disagreed with a colleague in life, no matter how much damage one might feel a particular person’s work may have done, when that colleague finally dies one says a few good words, pays respect, and puts aside past differences.
So What if Mitt Romney Kills Big Bird?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 6, 2012 Would it really matter? What would really happen? Science blogger Kevin Zelnio has the story: A Post-PBS Educational Television Landscape What is the bottom line of Kevin’s post? Well, go read it and find out. And for when you get back from Kevin’s post, here is Rick Santorum letting the genie out of the bottle:
Same Sex Marriage in Minnesota
Posted by Greg Laden on October 6, 2012 We’ve been talking about marriage, and we’ll continue that conversation. But for now I just wanted to alert you to the fact that a big chunk of money, allegedly about 2 million bucks from one person, has been given to the anti-same sex marriage organization, “National Organization for Marriage,” and it is expected that this…
Are Vaccines Safe For Your Children?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 Ask Allison Hagood and Stacy Herlihy about Vaccine Safety They are the authors of Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines Are Safe and Save Lives, and they will be Desiree’s guests on Skeptically Speaking. This week, we’re looking at the science – and pseudoscience – that affects the healthcare decisions parents make for their children,…
A big step in battery technology?
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 I usually avoid writing about research that has not been done yet. I get press releases every day about grants awarded to universities and private companies to pursue one research project or another. There is always some reason those grants are awarded, some prior research that indicates a potential finding. The early indications of what…
Atheist Voices of MN Authors’ Event – Har Mar Barnes & Noble
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 Wed, October 10th Join us at the Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville at 7pm, Wednesday, October 10 for a fun evening. The Atheist Voices of Minnesota will be featured for an authors’ event and we would love to see a room full of occupied seats! Six of the book authors will…
The Boy Scouts Suck
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 When I was a kid there were no boy scouts. Well, there were, but not exactly where I lived. There were cub scouts and I was a member, and older kids in my neighborhood were boy scouts, but then somehow when it came time for me to leave the Cub Scouts and join Boy Scouts,…
Romney did “win” the debate
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 Romney did three things at the debate: 1) He totally randomized his policies, thus putting into effect an excellent version of the Chewbaca Defense; 2) He made up his own rules, forcing Obama to follow them and embarrassing PBS and Jim Lehrer; and 3) He made a bunch of independents giddy, so when the post-debate…
Schrödinger’s cat found alive!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 By making constant but weak measurements of a quantum system, physicists have managed to probe a delicate quantum state without destroying it – the equivalent of taking a peek at Schrodinger’s metaphorical cat without killing it. The story is at the New Scientist.
Same Sex Marriage at the Polls
Posted by Greg Laden on October 5, 2012 This WILL be an historic year at the polls when it comes to the issue of same-sex marriage. The question remains, though, what will this year’s election, and the society voting in it, be remembered for? There four states with ballot items related to this issue: Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. I heard the following…
Leopard Gets Impala
Posted by Greg Laden on October 4, 2012 This is not something you see every day: … well, unless you live in Mala Mala or someplace.
Hypothesis: There are very few misogynist creeps in the Secular-Atheist-Skeptics Movement
Posted by Greg Laden on October 4, 2012 You know, there’s a pretty good chance that Justin Vacula is an OK guy. Really, that’s probably true of all of the SlymePitters. Hell, I used to count Abbie Smith among my eFriends, back when the two of us shared certain views about stuff going on at Scienceblogs.com, such as being unimpressed with the Drama…
Reconsider indoor tanning
Posted by Greg Laden on October 4, 2012 The whole point of being indoors is to get out of the elements, so it is a little strange that we bring miniature suns inside, take off most or all of our clothing, and irradiate ourselves on purpose. But we (well, some, not all of us) do and the result seems to be an increased…
Eugenie Scott: Climate Science in Schools: The Next Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on October 3, 2012 For three decades, the National Center for Science Education(NCSE) has focused most of its efforts on defending the teaching of evolution in the classroom. Increasingly, however, the teachers its executive director, Dr. Eugenie Scott, hears from are under fire for teaching global warming. So much so that in January, the organization formally added a climate…
Westminster Symposium 2012: Eugenie Scott on the intersection of science and religion
Posted by Greg Laden on October 2, 2012 How Religion and Science Interact and the Issue of Evolution A featured speaker at Westminster College’s 2012 Symposium on Religious Experience in a Global Society, Dr. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education (Oakland, California), discusses religion, science and evolution. Almost 80 years after the Scopes trial, the debate over the…
Pennsylvania Voter ID News
Posted by Greg Laden on October 2, 2012 You’ll recall when Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Mike Turzai was filmed admitting that the voter ID law he ushered in for that state was designed to make sure Obama lost there to Mitt Romney (see below). Pennsylvania is sort of a swing state, but Obama winning there would not have shocked anyone even from the…
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