Some Sunday Links

It's the 'freshmen are invading Boston' links edition. By the way, if you're at the corner of Exeter and Boylston and you can't find the Prudential Center--which is right below the really tall building that has "PRUDENTIAL" on it--you are prima facie evidence that admissions standards are indeed slipping. To the links; science first:

1. eigenFACTOR has a whole buncha shiny, new buttons to push.
2. ScienceBlogling Razib makes a very important point about how heritable a trait is: heritability is always dependent on the environmental and genetic contexts.
3. David Lindorff details the new security regulations that NASA scientists are facing.
4. teacherken talks about the negative effect that mandatory standardized tests are having on learning. Since much of science isn't mandated either...well, you connect the dots.
5. ScienceBlogling Bora has the definitive roundup of views of PRISM, the latest attempt to enrich scientific publishers at the expense of the taxpayer.
6. With a post title like "Soniferous Toadfish", what more could you ask for?
7. The phylogenetics of the binturong--one of the stinkest mammals around.
8. More silliness from Kentucky about the Creationist Museum.

Other stuff:

1. Commandante Kos is right: the 'big three' Democratic presidential candidates refuse to answer the most basic question about the Iraqi Occupation.
2. Paul Krugman argues that when it comes to governing, it's Katrina all the time.
3. Any time Shakes goes after Phyllis Schlafly, it's worth a read.
4. Grand Moff Texan warns us about the post-Labor Day roll out of our invasion of Iran.
5. Glenn Greenwald on the social conservatives' "politically exploitative, cost-free morality."
6. Lots of people seem to be touchy right now. Here's one explanation for why that is.
7. maha says were on the Road to Serfdom; I would rather be on the Train to Skaville. Oh well.
8. Mark Schmitt describes the real hypocrisy of Idaho Republicans: their reliance on government handouts.
9. driftglass has his own unique perspective on the U.S. failure to train the Iraqi police force.
10. This Labor Day don't forget the most desperate of us all: the extremely rich.
11. David Corn describes an Iraqi report describing how Iraqi corruption is crippling our efforts to restore some semblance of order to Iraq.
12. Eric Alterman asks about our media, "what can possibly be the argument for giving people junk they don't even desire?"
13. Matt Stoller describes the human cost of our healthcare system.