mikethemadbiologist

You might have heard of the group at Princeton which demonstrated how easy it is to crack the Diebold electronic voting machines. They have released a video that shows just how easy it is to conduct electoral fraud. Very chilling. The video (YouTube link below) has to be seen to be believed.

Eric Boehlert compares Bush's approval ratings with those of other presidents: Here then, is some much-needed historical perspective to put Bush's standing in context: *According to Gallup, on the eve of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, he was suffering the worst job-approval…

A CDC website lays out how we actually identify an outbreak of O157:H7. Guess what? It doesn't happen like it does in the movies or on TV. This is why keeping these networks fully functional (i.e., adequately funded) matters: time is critical and delays in processing due to inadequate resources…

We Jews have a secret: if you wave pork in front of us, we running away screeching. Contact with our skin causes anaphylactic shock. In fact, pork works better on us than silver does on vampires. Of course, I'm kidding when I say this. But I'm not kidding when I say that Sen. George "Macaca"…

Geneticists often use the phrase wild type to describe the dominant allele--genetic variant--of a gene. In microbiology, we typically assume that the wild type of a bacterium is sensitive to antibiotics, and that the rare mutants (and recombinants) are antibiotic resistant. My colleague, Susan…

Let me state something very clearly: I do not want a U.S. city (or any other city for that matter) wiped out by a nuclear bomb. Having said that, we the hawks among us have lost all sense of historical perspective when it comes to Iran. When you compare the Cold War to what ever it is that we…

Retired Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner seems to think so: Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner (Ret.) said, "We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now. The evidence is overwhelming." Gardiner, who taught at the U.S. Army's National War College, has previously suggested that U.S. forces were…

...but it also has blogs, posts, and threads. Al Franken explains this to Lanny Davis.

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has released a new book. In it, he attempts to be the Democratic Party's next Joe Lieberman. This is a bad thing. From the Chicago Sun-Times: "We Democrats are just, well, confused," Obama writes. He goes on. "Mainly, though, the Democratic Party has become the…

Over at Viva la Evolucion!, there's a new edition of Animalcules, the Carnival o'the Wee Beasties. I have a post there. There's also a really good post about Vibrio cholerae--the critter that causes cholera.

Here are my endorsements for various Democratic candidates in the MA primary (held tomorrow; go to the MA state website for more information). I figure my endorsement is worth...one vote. I've left off the uncontested candidates--no point in wasting bandwith. Governor: Deval Patrick. Gabrielli…

(picture from here) I'm fortunate enough to own one of the Koerner originals from 1942, so I thought I would post this. We used to form real coalitions when we conducted foreign policy. Sigh.

Here's some sciency and non-sciency links for you. First, some sciency stuff: Moon snails. 'Nuff said. The ecological genomics of Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera. A post of mine about antibiotic resistance. Most E. coli aren't bad for you. Other stuff: A piece by Joe Conanson on "The…

After reading this Washington Post article about the Iraq War reconstruction effort, I've stumbled across the epitaph of the Bush Administration: Bush Administration appoints political cronies and ideological wackjobs to important positions. Said appointees pandimensionally clusterfuck everything…

Ann Althouse, law professor and asshole extraordinaire, has decreed that Standing Straight Up with Breasts is whorish. Jessica Valenti from Feministing had a meeting with Bill Clinton and other bloggers--here's the photo. I bring this up because women can't be the only ones who decry this age-old…

(from here) There's been an outbreak of E. coli food poisoning due to contaminated lettuce. This gives me an opportunity to briefly talk about one of my favorite organisms, Escherichia coli. But first, from the AP: Consumers nationwide should not eat fresh bagged spinach, say health officials…

From Kristine at Amused Muse: People are always pointing at scientists and screaming, "Why don't you find a cure for cancer?" Well, now that scientists finally have, loopy-loo fundies deny the treatment for their daughters! Screw them. Not only should this vaccination be required for all young…

With all the Neville Chamberlain talk flying around, the neocons are right about one thing: there has been too much appeasement. Appeasement of Bush, that is. tristero writes about the rattling of sabers--and nukes--at Iran (boldface mine): As for Iran, let me explain: YOU may think it's…

(by Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times) I always liked Ann Richards, the former Democratic governor of Texas. Not only did she demonstrate that it is possible to be a Southerner, a liberal, a Democrat, and politically effective, but she had a great sense of humor, famously referring to George…

Granted, I've supported Paul Waldman's thesis that politics revolves around a personal narrative and not logical discussions of policy analysis is the right way to view things--depressing as that is. But after reading this post by Kos, I'm thoroughly discouraged. Kos writes: The key is to find…

Check out this Zephyr Digital Clock from 1933.

If you haven't read the Science letter by George Mandel and Elliot Vesell, and which was nicely summarized by fellow ScienceBlogling Nick Anthis, you should. It chronicles the coming dissolution of American science. If you think " the coming dissolution of American science" is too bombastic, I…

Harvard University has announced that it will end its early admissions policy. Finally, the middle class and lower-middle class catch a break. As the Boston Globe put it: The practice, many educators and admissions specialists say, favors wealthy students, who are more likely to know the option is…

It's good to see antibiotic resistance as today's "Buzz in the Blogosphere." Ironically, this weekend I had started putting together a post about how this issue isn't given the attention it deserves. Antibiotic resistance is a silent plague: the CDC estimates that 14,000 people per year in the U.…

More than a few blogs have discussed the kerfuffle over the Australian fashion designer who had a runway show with women who were not emaciated. Not much to add, but I came across this survey of 100 models at Fashion Week. What shocked me weren't the eating habits, but their ages: 14-15…

...I think? I received this email from a friend: Hey Mike, Are you aware that you are the #1 webpage that comes up when you Google "Christopath"? Well, I am now (and it's this post that does it). Nobody tell driftglass...

Doesn't this define the phrase "photo-op"? (This is almost as ridiculous as the "China Box" photo op). Update: Michael Tomasky has more.

Many others will speak far more eloquently about today than I could, so I'll just mention several brief thoughts. I found out about the 9/11 attacks after voting in the Democratic primary (which was cancelled). At that time, it wasn't clear what had happened: the radio reports were describing…

After reading PZ's post and the follow-up about Ken Miller's statements regarding atheism, I was just going to leave the subject alone. I usually find the arguments predictable, boring; there's always a lot of talking past each other. But for some reason, this particular argument over Ken Miller…

Here's some interesting links I've stumbled across this weekend: A very interesting interview about working mothers. Media Matters asks some very good questions about the War on Terror I always knew that being on a kick-ass ultimate frisbee team was good for my undergraduate university. A must-…