Education and Politics Weekly Channel Highlights

Each week we post a new picture and a choice comment from each of our nine channels here at ScienceBlogs on our channel homepages. Now, we're bringing you the best of the week in daily postings that will highlight individual channels. We've already seen what the Life Science, Physical Science, Environment and Humanities channels turned up; below, please find our favorite pickings from the Education & Careers and Politics channels:

Education & Careers. From Flickr, by Don Fulano

Reader comment of the week:

On In defense of amateurs, Brian Switek of Laelaps discusses a discouraging comment from one of his readers in repsonse to an update on his book-in-progress; apparently, the reader didn't think a book by a self-described "amateur" would merit much interest.

But another reader, jck, disagreed:

All "amateur" means is that you're not getting paid for it. I wonder if anyone has measured the contributions of amateurs to science. In the field of astronomy, for instance, I believe amateurs have made, and still make, significant contributions. I say keep going.

We think that's good advice, too.

Over on the Politics channel, Ed Brayton is outraged that Washington, D.C. police have set up checkpoints in certain neighborhoods to screen every singe person entering the 'hood. In Virtual Martial Law in D.C. he questions the legality of such an operation.

Reader SharonB reminds him:

This is the same police department that came up with the "Free voluntary home search by Police for illegal weapons." What happened if you decline? Hmmmmm.

Some other Education posts we thought were cool this week were:

Some People's Children

Wu Tang Clan Founder Promotes Chess

Confidence, humility, and practicing science-based surgery

Building Community Through Conversation

Ponderings of a bookworm

And from the Politics channel:

Performance in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Correlates With National Policies

he Ultimate "I Told You So"

Is Religion Really Such a Powerful Social Force?

The US Government Has Zero Grain Reserves

Obama Likes Edwards' Health Care

Look for highlights from other channels coming up!