mikethemadbiologist

Apparently, if Newt Gingrich is to be believed (and why would anyone do that?), he doesn't understand how food stamps stimulate the economy: Well, you know, I carry around a bumper sticker that says 2 plus 2 equals 4. So I'd be very curious how a dollar given to somebody becomes a $1.79. And I…

Have no doubt, despite the claims of propagandists, the foreclosure documentation crisis is not nitpicking. Providing the court with affidavits with unverified information is fraud: were you or I to do this, we would go to jail. One of Yves Smith's commenters describes this in more detail: An…

A Tuesday that feels like a Monday. Blech. Anyway, links for you. Science: Whooping cough in California: deaths caused by the anti-vaccination movement Big cats hunting pumpkins Photo safari - lion's mane jellyfish (in an amusing case of tangled tentacles) Other: American People Hire High-…

Steven Pearlstein, who usually has a tepid, establishment take on things, sounds kind of shrill, even, perhaps, liberal when he talks about income inequality. Pearlstein does a good job of laying out the facts of inequality (and how it's become worse), but it's the implications of inequality that…

Bob Herbert echoes the frustration many have felt with Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie's decision to scuttle the plan to build a much-needed tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York City: The United States is not just losing its capacity to do great things. It's losing its soul. It's…

Links for you. Science: Staph infection traps lobstermen Epigenetics - what revolution? How scientific journalism is, and should be done Other: Why I Won't Blog for U.S. News and World Report (this makes Pepsigate look tame by comparison) Jim Quinn: Consumer Deleveraging = Commercial Real Estate…

By way of The Angry Bear, we come across this interesting abstract about the benefits of reducing congestion at toll plazas by using E-ZPass: We find that reductions in traffic congestion generated by E-ZPass reduced the incidence of prematurity and low birth weight among mothers within 2km of a…

In Ohio's ninth congressional district, Republican voters have nominated Rich Iott, a wealthy businessman, who has an interesting hobby: he likes to dress up as a member of the Waffen SS, which were Nazi Germany's elite and ideologically motivated shock troops. Here is how Iott's play-date…

Last week, I showed pictures of what a food stamp budget actually buys. By way of Susie Madrak, we come across this article describing hunger in Philadelphia: Sherita Parks went shopping in a corner store in Frankford the other day with her too-thin daughter, Joe-anna, 2.... "I only wanted to…

Today is 10/10/10; no doubt, woomeisters are reading great significance into the date. Instead of reading TEH STOOPD, read some good links. Science: Scott Kern's Message Cool Evolution Trick: Platinum Turns Baby Snails Into Slugs Other: Which Came First: The Regulation Or The Egg? Job Tracker (…

More fun in our military libertarian paradise (italics mine): Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks and Iranian intelligence have been hired to guard American military bases in Afghanistan, exposing United States soldiers to surprise attack and confounding the…

So it turns out that Obama isn't completely tone deaf. To his credit, he has essentially* vetoed a bill that would have forced courts to recognize out of state foreclosure-related documents. Given the wide-scale fraud in forclosure-related documentation--to the point where it's not clear who…

Merry Saturday. Links for you. Science: C. diff: Blame hospitals? Or food? Stop eating before you become obese A Marine Life Encyclopedia Why I spoofed science journalism, and how to fix it Other: The Average Is Not the Typical... Exclusive: First Autistic Presidential Appointee Speaks Out (deaf…

Sometimes, as decrepit as our traditional media corporations are, they suffer from an outbreak of human decency. Kudos to the St. Petersburg Times for this obituary about a hit-and-run victim. Here's why they ran it: Shortly after the St. Petersburg Times announced Mr. Smith's death on its…

Just how desperate to find a story--and a controversy--do you have to be to believe this is real: Anchors at the Fox News national morning news show "Fox and Friends" reported Tuesday that the city of Los Angeles had ordered 10,000 jetpacks for its police and fire departments. The price tag: a…

Maybe if the Obama administration and the Blue Dog (corporate) Democrats fought for an economic policy that made the middle-class' lives better, we wouldn't be faced with the looming political failure to deal with environmental problems. From Politico: Most House Republicans envision killing Nancy…

Sun! Really! Now with extra bonus links. Science: Disease + mosquitoes + climate change = Uh-oh There was an old lady who swallowed a bat (and its viruses) to catch the insects (and their viruses) to catch the plants (and their viruses) and there are some bacteria in there too (and their viruses…

Think Progress has recently described the mechanism by which the 'U.S.' Chamber of Commerce is able to circumvent what few campaign finance laws remain and funnel money from foreign corporations to Republicans. So I have a very simple question: why don't congressional Democrats censure the 'U.S…

The exciting thing about the recent technological advances in genomics is that we have a massive amount of data. The terrifying thing about the recent technological advances in genomics is that we have a massive amount of data. A while ago, I brought this up in the context of bacterial genomics:…

Rumor has it that the rain is supposed to stop tomorrow. Let's celebrate with some links. Science: Your disease, your fault How Science Museums Are Promoting Civil Religion-Science Dialogue (I really like the way the Smithsonian's human origins exhibit dealt with religion too) More is better?…

The Washington Independent ran pictures taken by Joel Berg, the executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, showing what a week's worth of food stamps will buy you: Remember this amount of food includes supplemental funding from the ARRA. Here's what one week looks like when…

Once again, Janet Stemwedel reminds us why we keep professional philosophers around. On Monday, in response to cancer researcher Scott Kern's moaning about how cancer researchers don't work hard enough, I asked if science was a job or a calling? Janet framed the question far better than I did (…

I've got a bunch of education-related links that I'll never get around to blogging about. Maybe you will? Anyway, here they are: Has education reform jumped the shark? A teacher says 'yes' What 'Superman' got wrong, point by point Obama's Education Agenda Prioritizes "Reform" Over Resources Are…

Seriously. I do. Over at Gin and Tacos, Ed decries the deluge of stupidity in which we are awash: The real issue, and I mean the real, honest-to-god Problem With The World Today, is that Americans as a nation are dumb. Really fucking dumb. The Pew [religious knowledge] survey, the Tea Party, or…

When I'm writing about politics, I've been regularly discussing the legal problems related to the collapse of Big Shitpile (the foreclosure crisis). At Naked Capitalism, Yves Smith lays out why this matters (so I don't have to stumble my way through this): Make no mistake about it: the nature and…

Just another Manic Monday...with links! Science: Lab Notebook Sex, Evolution, and the Case of the Missing Polygamists Spam Journalism #81 Other: Leftists Should Take Credit for Bringing Down Democrats Full Employment: The golden age is in us Signing Out Dwight Was Right Blackwater Wins Piece of $…

Someone is using a post from this blog for a course. The ongoing corruption of the youth of America continues.... I noticed links from this website, which is an online syllabus for a course on digital curation. The course seems interesting (even if the description is written in that jargony,…

You might have, by now, seen that obnoxious article by Scott Kern bemoaning the sorry state of the cancer research facility at which he works. Apparently, the building is nearly empty on weekends, so people aren't working hard enough, and thereby killing cancer patients. Rebecca sums up the tone…

Fall is definitely here. Let's celebrate with some links. Science: Science journalists: no more simplistic pseudo-genetics, please (it would help a lot if journalists started using the word allele) Strange insect encounter: Carrion Beetle with Mites Other: You're Very Stupid; Now Vote for Me. I…

Curse you Gail Collins and your evidence! Last week, Gail Collins wrote a good op-ed about education 'reform.' While it's probably not anything too new for regular readers, it's good to see that the Rockefeller Republican/neo-liberal educational propaganda isn't being swallowed hook, line, and…