I Think This Explains Many, Many Things
According to an AP-AOL poll, 25% of Americans think Jesus will return next year.
Posted by Mike at 6:09 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology
Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
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December 31, 2006
According to an AP-AOL poll, 25% of Americans think Jesus will return next year.
Posted by Mike at 6:09 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Finally, there might be a Democrat who speaks my language about deficits and budgets.
Posted by Mike at 11:44 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I've been called out by Michael Fumento regarding a post about avian influenza. While I'm putting that together, I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some previous posts about influenza.
Posted by Mike at 10:39 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 30, 2006
You might not know this, but, due to pressure from Republicans beholden to theological conservatives, park rangers at the Grand Canyon are not allowed to discuss how old the Grand Canyon is. Really. I'm not making this up.
Posted by Mike at 11:48 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 29, 2006
A recent report by the National Arbor Day Foundation vividly describes the dramatic increase in average annual winter temperature throughout the U.S.
Posted by Mike at 3:01 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
After reading this article about Democratic consultant Mara Vanderslice whose speciality is outreach to "theological conservatives", my head was about to explode. Thankfully...
Posted by Mike at 10:10 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 28, 2006
My grandmother used to say that if you didn't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. She did not say, "You should lie and make stuff up." Which leads us to one of David Broder's most inexplicable columns yet.
Posted by Mike at 6:23 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
and decides that Massachusetts shouldn't be Mississippi. A couple of months ago, Republican Mitt Romney engaged in financial chicanery to cut social spending, including vaccination programs and programs that assist the mentally disabled.
Posted by Mike at 11:16 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 27, 2006
Thankfully for the readers, most of the scientific literature I read doesn't make it into this blog. But one paper about a comparative drug trial had some very interesting results. In short, obesity and smoking are significant risk factors for post-operative infections.
Posted by Mike at 7:46 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 26, 2006
From the archives, I'm reposting this article about MRSA and VRSA. I've made some changes because the science and medical practice have changed.
Posted by Mike at 8:02 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 25, 2006
Category: Bloggity Blog
Have a Merry Christmas!
Posted by Mike at 10:49 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 24, 2006
Category: Plasmids
...so no blogging. Instead, I'll leave you with a "make sexy time" photo (to steal Borat's phrase):
Posted by Mike at 11:52 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 23, 2006
At a recent conference (pdf), Dr. Rebecca Roberts described how medical residents and doctors treat urinary tract infections. But first, a bit about 'empirical therapy.'
Posted by Mike at 2:47 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 22, 2006
Pam at Pandagon describes two workers in Texas "who were fired after praying over another staff member's cubicle and anointing it with olive oil." Where had I heard about similar lunacy before? The Alito hearings.
Posted by Mike at 10:09 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
At a recent conference I attended, one speaker (Dominique Monnet) presented a very interesting observation about the relationship between the number of different antibiotics available and the amount of antibiotics prescribed.
Posted by Mike at 11:48 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 21, 2006
Well, the Republicans aren't in charge of Congress anymore, but they still can bring the crazy.
Posted by Mike at 12:38 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Revere, over at Effect Measure, has a solid critique of Michael Fumento's opinion piece about avian flu. What the piece shows is just how ignorant of public health Fumento really is.
Posted by Mike at 9:54 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 20, 2006
At a recent conference, I heard Dr. Rebecca Roberts describe the economic cost of antibiotic resistant infections at Cook County's Stroger Hospital. In a nutshell, it's terrifying.
Posted by Mike at 5:46 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You might have heard about the U.S. contractor who volunteered to be an FBI informant. For his service, he received 90+ days of Gitmoization. As hideous as that is, there are some other disturbing points in the NY Times story.
Posted by Mike at 12:54 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The Guttmacher Institute has released a report showing that 90% of Americans have engaged in premarital sex.
Posted by Mike at 9:48 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 19, 2006
Thomas Geoghan has an excellent article about the need to raise taxes. He makes a very important point: how we tax ourselves defines who we are.
Posted by Mike at 5:29 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
...or at least, I was mentioned in Cell.
Posted by Mike at 11:49 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 18, 2006
Jonah links to a recent paper in the Journal of Political Economy. Here's the summary:
Posted by Mike at 5:04 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You might have heard about the $500 million that El Jefe Maximo is trying to raise for his presidential library.
Posted by Mike at 9:40 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 17, 2006
Here are some weekend links for you.
Posted by Mike at 9:54 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Well, we do it for narcotics.
Posted by Mike at 12:50 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 16, 2006
While the Republican War on Science isn't doing as well as it once was, there still is too much politicization of scienctific results. Commenting on a BBC article about the UCS statement about scientific integrity, Jim at TeachtheFacts.org gives an excellent description of science
Posted by Mike at 9:59 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In the past week, over 400 students and teachers in the Boston area have contracted norovirus, which causes nausea, vomitting and diarrhea.
Posted by Mike at 9:11 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 15, 2006
But you know you want to read it anyway....
Posted by Mike at 3:34 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I was recently at a conference where one speaker (Dr. Thomas O'Brien) suggested 'VRSA hospital insurance' to prevent the spread of vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreaks ('VRSA'). Before I get into the plan, let's talk about VRSA.
Posted by Mike at 12:24 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 14, 2006
One is from Nicholas Kristof and one is from batshit lunatic Ron Moore (the former judge who placed a Ten Commandments megalith in the Alabama Supreme Court).
Posted by Mike at 5:50 PM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 13, 2006
Over at the News Blog, Steve Gilliard links to a post about the idiocy of a public high school in Kentucky that is displaying a Confederate flag* in the school cafeteria (Kentucky was never a Confederate state: eastern Kentucky, in particular, was staunchly pro-Union).
Posted by Mike at 12:32 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 12, 2006
Congressman Walter Jones, at a press conference calling for displays of nativity scenes on public property (because that is the most important issue facing the Republic):
Posted by Mike at 12:20 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 11, 2006
Category: Bloggity Blog
I was at a meeting yesterday about antibiotic drug development, so this week's links are a day late. Here's the science stuff:
Posted by Mike at 8:53 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 10, 2006
Because said officials are even more ignorant than the Pundits of the Potomac. A few months ago, Jeff Stein published an op-ed about the many officials who are charged with anti-terrorism and who also know nothing about the Middle East--to the point where they don't know if Hezbollah is Sunni or Shiite. Stein has followed up with an interview with incoming House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes.
Posted by Mike at 2:55 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Biologist Esther Lederberg died recently--unfortunately, it wasn't very well covered (the NY Times was only a month late...). This is a real shame, since I don't think the history of molecular biology would have been the same without her.
Posted by Mike at 12:28 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 9, 2006
Here's the picture:
Posted by Mike at 1:51 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
...an LBJ moment?
Posted by Mike at 11:14 AM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 8, 2006
Newsweek columnist Christopher Dickey writes this about our new Iraqi friend, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim:
Posted by Mike at 9:24 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 7, 2006
I know with a war on, the using of the Constitution for toilet paper, and so on, this concern of mine is trivial, but it is so very symbolic. You see, the White House sells hand soap. And, you guessed it, it contains....
Posted by Mike at 5:15 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Sexist Pigs
A colleague looking to buy Christmas gifts went to the Discovery Channel store page and noticed that boys and girls had two different pages. It's nice to see that a company supposedly dedicated to science has decided that girls don't like or want science.
Posted by Mike at 3:50 PM • 23 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
...find anything the government does that works and break it. I really never thought that we would be debating lead standards:
Posted by Mike at 9:41 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 6, 2006
Category: John "Snuggles" McCain
It seems more and more people are finally paying close attention to Mitt Romney and John McCain. While I've talked about Romney's idiocy before, The Boston Phoenix did a great job of skewering McCain, so I'll turn it over to them:
Posted by Mike at 5:20 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 5, 2006
Just when you think the Peter Pan Right can't possibly get any daffier, they just manage to do so. By way of Crooked Timber comes this synopsis of a Michael Novak article in the Standard:
Posted by Mike at 11:07 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
By way of Majikthise, I found this excellent post by Abbas Raza about the problem of mathematical illiteracy. But to step back a bit, this trail of links began with the release of new teaching guidelines by the National Council of Mathematics Teachers:
Posted by Mike at 5:38 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In Las Vegas, the SEIU nurses have been locked out during contract negotiations. The nurses don't want pay increases or better benefits, but a lower patient-to-nurse ratio. Universal Health Services, the for-profit hospital chain, claims the nurses are trying to expand the union membership. The nurses claim that they simply want to improve patient care. Regardless of the motives involved, there is one indisputable fact: having fewer patients per nurse decreases the likelihood that a patient will become infected while in the hospital.
Posted by Mike at 3:30 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I don't have an answer, but the picture asks the question quite nicely:
Posted by Mike at 2:55 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I've posted before about the possible approval of cefquinome in agriculture, and why this is a stupid thing to even consider. So some colleagues and I got cranky and wrote a letter to the FDA.
Posted by Mike at 12:15 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 4, 2006
Category: Religion
I visited the Smithsonian this Thanksgiving, and in the Sackler Museum is an exhibit of very old bibles (both Christian and Jewish).
Posted by Mike at 6:36 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Massachusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney's ongoing effort to turn Massachusetts into Mississippi has entered a new phase: embryonic stem cell research. In Romney's last-ditch desperate attempt to buff up his Republican credentials, he has appointed a budget planner to be executive director of a board overseeing state funding for stem cell research.
Posted by Mike at 12:27 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The NY Times had a pearl-clutching article by Daniel Glover about supposed conflicts of interest that progressive bloggers have (even though they typically identify those conflicts...), which has been rebutted all over the place, so I won't waste time doing that. I do have a simple question for Glover, however.
Posted by Mike at 11:29 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The story about Kenyan religious leaders who are attempting to stifle evolutionary biology at the Kenyan National Museum is making the rounds of the progressive political blogs (interesting, how the right-wing blogs aren't covering this...). Within this story, there is a real tragedy:
Posted by Mike at 10:12 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
December 3, 2006
Category: Bloggity Blog
Here are some good links for you.
Posted by Mike at 9:50 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Humor
The best internet quiz, EVAH!
Posted by Mike at 4:42 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks