gregladen | February 24, 2011This year's CONvergence is allegedly more steampunk themed than usual, so we may be required to wear goggles to the various sessions on evolution, skepticism, etc. I need help picking out which ones to wear. So far, these are the choices:
Hobart Welding Goggles:
Harry Potter Quidditch Goggles:
Flip Fronts:
Classic Round Lens Moto Goggles:
gregladen | February 24, 2011La falsedad de los universales humanos
Existen universales humanos. Ahora concederme media hora para explicar por qué esto es correcto y falso a al vez. Pero primero, algo sobre el trasfondo y la definición.
Definido del modo más simple, un universal humano es un rasgo, una conducta o una caracterÃstica cultural que encontramos en todas las sociedades humanas. Los hombres son de media más grandes que las mujeres. Todos los humanos ven exactamente el mismo rango de colores porque nuestros ojos son iguales. El rango de emociones experimentado por las personas es el mismo, y aparece en las…
gregladen | February 24, 2011The Science component of "The Nation's Report Card" was released today and clearly indicates that we have moved one step closer as a nation in two of our most important goals: Building a large and complacent poorly educated low-pay labor class, and increasing the size of our science-illiterate populace in order to allow the advance of medieval morality and Iron Age Christian values.
The "Nation's Report Card" is meant to report academic achievement of K-12 students, and is conducted by the US Department of Education as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The current…
gregladen | February 23, 2011First we had this: Deputy AG suggests shooting Wisconsin Demonstrators to Death
Now, this: Indiana attorney general fires deputy over 'live ammunition' tweets aimed at Wisconsin protestors (sic)
Ahh... if only it was always this easy.
gregladen | February 23, 2011Hat Tip The Paltry Sapien for this video by Yuanjian Luo:
A Tale of Two Twins from Yuanjian Luo on Vimeo.
gregladen | February 23, 2011House Bill 302 was tabled by the Education Committee of the New Mexico House of Representatives on a 5-4 vote on February 18, 2011, suggesting that it is unlikely to come to a floor vote before the legislature adjourns on March 19, 2011. A version of the currently popular "academic freedom" antievolution strategy, HB 302, if enacted, would require teachers to be allowed to inform students "about relevant scientific information regarding either the scientific strengths or scientific weaknesses" pertaining to "controversial" scientific topics and would protect teachers from "reassignment,…
gregladen | February 23, 2011If you live in Georgia, and have a miscarriage, you will be investigated, if recently introduced legislation is passed. The bill proposed ...
... by House Republican Bobby Franklin would make abortion the legal equivalent of murder and require miscarriages to be investigated by authorities.
...
Franklin's bill would classify the removal of a fetus from a woman for any reason other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus as "prenatal murder." Physicians indicted for alleged "prenatal murder" would have their license suspended until they were found innocent of the crime.…
gregladen | February 23, 2011A deputy attorney General of Indiana, responded to a tweet indicating that Wisconsin demonstrators might be swept out of the capitol building by police with this: "Use live ammunition." Adam Weinstein, the original tweeter of the news from the Capitol building, who happens to be a journalist, writes:
From my own Twitter account, I confronted the user, JCCentCom. He tweeted back that the demonstrators were "political enemies" and "thugs" who were "physically threatening legally elected officials." In response to such behavior, he said, "You're damned right I advocate deadly force." He later…
gregladen | February 23, 2011Look up "telling a lie" in the dictionary and you'll see this video clip next to the definition as an excellent example:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
source
gregladen | February 23, 2011A few months ago, for reasons that I do not recall and could probably never explain, Amanda and I stopped at one of those crappy little Chinese Restaurants stuck between a dry cleaner and a dollar store in some out of the way run down strip mall in Andover.1 We were very hungry; I remember that. We ordered the usual: Egg foo yung for Amanda (I personally don't know why anyone would eat that) and Kung Pao chicken and something noodly for me.
We were expecting to be satiated by the food, but to be made somewhat ill from the low quality ingredients and poor cooking one usually finds in a…
gregladen | February 23, 2011Sarah likes herself, which is good to know. But she is violating a social media networking rule called "sock puppetry."
Check it out.
gregladen | February 22, 2011Steven Newton, Programs and Policy Director for the National Center for Science Education:
... Why is "neutrality" toward evolution such a disaster for college-bound kids?
Evolution is the foundation of biology. Just as geologists cannot decipher the earth's features without plate tectonics, and physicists cannot understand the interaction of light and matter without quantum electrodynamics, biologists cannot explain the diversity of life on earth without evolution. Trying to teach biology without evolution is like teaching auto mechanics without discussing engines. Teachers should not be…
gregladen | February 22, 2011The Biggest Loser is a TV reality show on which people who really do weigh a lot more than is healthy compete to lose weight. They do this on teams. There are various challenges. There are charismatic trainers. And, of course, because it is a TV reality show, individuals can get tossed off the show either because of poor performance (not losing enough weight) or by getting voted off.
An interesting and entirely inappropriate trend has developed on this show.
Individuals decide that they should leave the show while others must stay. They accomplish this by gaining, rather than losing,…
gregladen | February 22, 2011And other matters, including a summary of what happened in Texas.
The Tennessee Senate has introduced a second anti- evolution bill and the debate over teaching intelligent design in schools continues. Dr. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education updates us on the debate.
Click here.
More on Tennessee here, regarding the seventh anti-Evolution bill filed somewhere in the US this year, the second in Tennessee. Yes folks, we are under attack more than ever.
gregladen | February 22, 2011Or is it just that she does whatever Mistress Bachmann tells her to do?
My friend Aseem recently said to me that John McCain may be the USA's greatest villain for unleashing Sarah Palin. My response: Perhaps, and Michele Bachmann is a great villian for leashing Sarah Palin.
I do find it interesting that Palin gets so much press for what she says and does, but the truth is, Minnesota's Michele Bachmann, not Sarah Palin, formed the Tea Party, and many of the moves we see Palin pull off are copycat acts following similar moves by Bachmann. It was Bachmann who attacked Michelle "Knows how…
gregladen | February 22, 2011Two Decades of Christian Nationalist Education Paved Way for Today's War on Labor
While some religious leaders have come together to voice support for public employees in Wisconsin, others view the attack on the public sector and unions as a holy war. Fundamentalist textbooks and other media have been used for indoctrination into a worldview in which unregulated free markets are divinely mandated. In this sacralized model of capitalism, those who interfere with the invisible hand of the market are choosing "the state as provider rather than God." The Koch brothers may have helped finance…
gregladen | February 22, 2011UPDATE: Was Gordon Hintz recently placed under arrest on sex-crime related charges? (see below) And, did news of this arrest become disseminated only moments ago because of his speech in Madison?
Whoa ...
Citizens of Wisconsin: If you are not all as mad as this guy, you don't really get what's going on.
The Wikipedia page seems to think so:
Gordon N. Hintz is a Democratic Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 54th Assembly District since his election in 2006.
Mr. Hintz also placed 2nd in the 2003 National Air Guitar championships under the pseudonym, "Krye Tuff…
gregladen | February 22, 2011
The First Openly Gay Horse to run in a major race will be at the post today:
Teachers Must Die:
You can make an Angry Birds birthday cake:
gregladen | February 22, 2011Or do people just say that this happens with insufficient evidence? In one study it was shown that local governments were using inadequate data to "justify marginalizing sex-related businesses..." a position they felt worthy of supporting even if it could be supported only by twisting the evidence.
Have a look at Sex, Science, and Social Policy.