Politics
Category archives for Politics
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Posted by Ethan on June 4, 2010 “Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.” -Comte DeBussy-Rabutin As many of you know, I’m not around for the rest of the week/weekend, as I’m off competing in the USA Beard & Mustache Championships! But I wouldn’t feel right without leaving you something to tide…
A New Space Vision: What I think
Posted by Ethan on April 16, 2010 I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. -John F. Kennedy, 1961 The entire human endeavor of spaceflight is — without a doubt — one of the greatest achievements in the history of…
Weekend Diversion: The Power of Mockery
Posted by Ethan on December 6, 2009 Earlier this week, I was reading one of Ed’s posts, and I followed the link to the original post, where I found this gem of a comment (and I would link to it, but the blog owner has reconsidered what he wants to make public): ‘Freedom of speech’ does not mean ‘freedom from mockery.’ Well,…
How overpopulated are we?
Posted by Ethan on October 16, 2009 …we spend paltry sums for population planning, even though its spontaneous growth is an urgent threat to life on our planet. There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and…
Are we not good enough for Darwin?
Posted by Ethan on September 15, 2009 Yesterday, I read something in international news that made me so mad I needed to share it with you: That’s right; my home country, the United States, will not distribute this film. There was no problem for the movie Expelled, a poorly argued anti-evolution flop that grossed just $7,598,071 despite appearing on more than 1,000…
A Labor Day Special: Laboring for the Earth and Big Science
Posted by Ethan on September 7, 2009 One nice new feature we’ve got here on scienceblogs is the Editor’s Picks feature, found on the front page. While browsing it this weekend, I was drawn to this provocative article. In it, Benjamin Cohen writes of his interview with Rebecca Solnit, who says the following when asked about nuclear power as a viable solution…
Ethics Question: A Man’s Rights
Posted by Ethan on June 24, 2009 There is a long history of oppression of women on many fronts in our society. Socially, politically, economically, and legally, among others. There are a number of very good bloggers here who often address gender issues, and I’m not typically one of them. But two things happened to me yesterday that brings up a gender…
Cinco de Mayo, Unions, and your Government
Posted by Ethan on May 5, 2009 In 1862, an under-manned, under-equipped Mexican army defeated the French at the battle of Puebla on May 5th. Cinco de Mayo, started because of this event, has now become a widespread holiday in the US, where awareness and appreciation of Mexico and Mexican culture are of paramount importance. So before you go out to Chi-Chi’s…
The LHC, Black Holes and You
Posted by Ethan on May 1, 2009 Who is correct here? We don’t know, you don’t know, it is uncharted territory. Would you bet the entire human history and the existence of our solar system on it? I wouldn’t. –from a user comment on my old website on the topic of the Large Hadron Collider Back when all the hype and hoopla…
