jlynch
Posts by this author
July 20, 2006
Yesterday, I mentioned the UCS survey of FDA scientists. Today, the results have been released to the public.
Some findings:
Almost one in five (18 percent) responded, "I have been asked, for non-scientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information or my conclusions in an…
July 19, 2006
The House voted 235-193 to override Bush's veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, 51 votes short of the required number. Here, for the record, is how Arizona's representatives voted on this issue:
Senate:
For: McCain (R)Against: Kyl (R)
House:
For: Flake (R), Grijalva (D), Kolbe (R),…
July 19, 2006
With all the attention being paid to the stem cell issue, it's worth remembering that the House yesterday also voted on H J RES 88 "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage."
Some soundbites from the floor are worth repeating:
Rep. John Carter (R-TX): "…
July 19, 2006
Scott Rosenberg:
Here is why Bush's position is a joke: Thousands and thousands of embryos are destroyed every year in fertility clinics. They are created in petri dishes as part of fertility treatments like IVF; then they are discarded. If Bush and his administration truly believe that destroying…
July 19, 2006
No surprises. Pandering to a clear minority and in an attempt to save the wreck that is his Presidency, Bush vetos HR 810. Five and a half years of dumb bills and excessive spending and he chooses this time to actually veto. Equally, why, oh why, do we have to put up with the crap that he spouts in…
July 19, 2006
I'm actually finding it remarkably easy to answer this question.
I'd have to go for the period after 1660, in London, and thus during the time of the Scientific Revolution. Sure, you had to be a gentleman of privilege, but the Royal Society of London had begun to consolidate informal attitudes…
July 19, 2006
The Union of Concerned Scientists will today release a survey of nearly one thousand Food and Drug Administration scientists that demonstrates widespread and dangerous political and commercial interference at the agency. FDA scientists report being asked to alter their findings for non-scientific…
July 18, 2006
Spector hands Santorum his ass.
And here, by the way, is that five day embryo that Santorum is talking about:
It's the orange thing. Impressive, eh?
July 18, 2006
Press release follows:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific organization, tonight urged U.S. President George W. Bush to uphold the U.S. Senate's approval of H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.
"We in the scientific…
July 18, 2006
Brownback's antics aside, HR 810 passed today 63-37, not enough to overide any veto Bush wants to throw in the way. It's wonderful how someone who shows all signs of having slept his way through science classes gets to override the general public, the scientific community and the Senate on this…
July 18, 2006
H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, allows scientific use of embryos which were "created for the purposes of in vitro fertilization ... and in every single case are slated for medical waste." This doesn't prevent Sam Brownback (R-KS) from distorting this on the senate floor and…
July 18, 2006
So let me see if I've gotten this straight. He gropes the German Chancellor, addresses the British Prime Minister as "Yo, Blair", and wants Hizbollah to "stop doing this shit" (news). Brings whole new meaning to "special relationship". That's some representative we have up there on the world stage.
July 18, 2006
Coturnix the Chronobiologist offers an oldest book meme. I guess my library is in as much disarray as his - especially as it's split between home and office - so here's what I have to hand and own that pre-dates 1900:
Geology and Revelation: of The Ancient History of the Earth Considered in Light…
July 17, 2006
This story in the Times of London (breathlessly titled "How man's best friend overcame laws of natural evolution"*) has been linked to by Dembski over at his blog and by a number of other creationists around the web. I guess they think it somehow disproves evolution or problematizes natural…
July 17, 2006
Eric Margolis in the Toronto Sun on the current situtation in the Middle East:
All parties involved are to blame for this frightful mess: The Palestinians and Hezbollah for provoking Israel, and Israel for its continuing brutal repression of Palestinians and assassinating their leaders. But most at…
July 16, 2006
The caterpillar of a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus):
(Adult here)
According to here, "The fact that the false eye spots even swell out from the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar's body, as do actual eyes, is proof to us that these little souls were created by intelligent design."
Ignoring…
July 16, 2006
On Ms Coulter, Zeno writes:
As she plies her trade as a self-proclaimed snoutfair and prunk dispenser of scaum, we can imagine she cut her teeth as a flarting nazzle. Time, however, is not the ally of this cock-throppled fishfag, now well on her ostentiferous way to becoming a dwizzen-faced hurrion…
July 16, 2006
Can anyone guess where this is? And equally, why it is topical?
Clue: "Batter my heart, three person'd God"
[I stole the idea from Alex's Map That Campus quiz]
July 15, 2006
"We found out the hard way that Ann Coulter is not a major draw for donors." (source)
Coulter charges $20,000+ for speaking appearances (see here).
Amount raised at a Republican fundraiser featuring Coulter on March 28th? $0
And that was before her subtle comments on the 9/11 widows.
Hat tip to Jim…
July 15, 2006
Today is the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt van Rijn. In honor, I give you The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632) which is probably my favorite Rembrandt painting.
[click above for much larger version]
For more on the painting, see here.
July 14, 2006
I have in the past hammered home the point that mathematicians, engineers, lawyers etc have little business critiquing evolutionary biology (see here, for example). Over at Evolutionblog, Jason, himself a mathematician (and responding to the DI lawyer Casey Luskin), hits the nail on the head:
There…
July 14, 2006
All hell appears to be breaking out between Israel & Lebanon and Bush refuses to pressure Israel. Things are heated between India & Pakistan. North Korea and Iran are problematic. And these jackasses are happy.
Is it time to get excited? I can't help the way I feel. For the first time in my…
July 14, 2006
This one-pound lobster that was caught in Maine apparently is missing pigment on one half of its body. Quote at end of the story: "Lobsters are interesting but not personable."
July 14, 2006
Here's an interesting story over at Discover regarding bacteria in the high Arctic - Ellesmere Island, to be precise - and what they might bring to the search for extraterrestrial life.
Mike Price, the author, just graduated from ASU with an honors degree in Journalism and is heading off to the…
July 14, 2006
This is cool. A rainbow and lightning in Arkansas (source). But the comments appear to miss the point of basic physics:
Incidents like this make we wonder how some people say there is no God.
The pictures are truly amazing!! Proving outright the power and existance of a higher power.
I, too,…
July 13, 2006
Apparently older meerkats (S. suricatta) teach pups how to obtain food by incrementally introducing dead, injured and then live prey. As the University of Cambridge press release notes, although learning per se wouldn't be surprising, whether wild mammals teach their young was still debated. This…
July 13, 2006
Over at National Review Online, John Derbyshire tackles George Gilder's expectorations on evolution. He writes:
It's a wearying business, arguing with Creationists. Basically, it is a game of Whack-a-Mole. They make an argument, you whack it down. They make a second, you whack it down. They make a…