'Flies and Projectors and Bears, Oh My!'

Steve Mirsky in Scientific American fisks McCain and Palin campaign anti-science statements (not that the remaining Republicans are any better, but these two were in the spotlight):

You're not supposed to kick a guy when he's down.

Of course, in reality, when he's down is the perfect time to kick him. He's closer to your feet, for one thing. But the particular kicking I have in mind should be thought of as tough love. These kicks at the freshly defeated McCain-Palin ticket, as I write in early November, are an attempt to knock some sense back into the group of my fellow Americans who seem determined to ignore or even denigrate valuable scientific research because it's something outside the realm of Joe the Plumber's daily activities....

And then it gets into the meat of things....