mikethemadbiologist

One piece of infection control legislation moving (slowly) through Congress is the Healthy Hospitals Act, H.R. 1174 (it's so slow that it's, erm, an act of 2007). H.R. 1174 would amend "the Social Security Act to require public reporting of health care-associated infections data by hospitals and…

Hilzoy discusses the ceasefire between the brutal Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government. Read it and weep--in a good way.

I believe I did. And on cue, a bigot steps right up (italics mine): An evangelical chaplain who leads Bible studies for California lawmakers says God is disgusted with a rival fellowship group that includes people of all faiths. "Although they are pleasant men in their personal demeanor, their…

I shall destroy all blogs!! I look like this. Really. Over at Bayblab, there's a jeremiad about how we at ScienceBlogs are destroying science blogging. We're also money grubbing whores--because that $2-4 a day goes really far. I don't get paid that little at my day job. Even back at the old…

In response to this post about scientist-turned-congressional candidate Bill Foster, Renaisauce writes: I completely agree. More scientists should be running for office, and they should be winning, especially over career politicians. Then again, if all the scientists went into politics, then there…

And that includes the pets. Since I saw the 'TV version' while at the gym yesterday, that spurred me to get around to discussing this article about the transmission of E. coli within families. In the article, the authors sampled at least seven isolates* of E. coli from 152 people and 76 pets, and…

I think Amanda's take on Amy Sullivan's denigration of the term pro-choice is pretty dead on. But something else about that interview bothered me, and it was Sullivan's need for religious validation from political figures and parties. In the interview, Sullivan says: When you write off Catholics…

Having just finished Thomas Geoghan's See You in Court: How the Right Made America a Lawsuit Nation, I can't recommend it highly enough. In it, Geoghan makes an interesting claim: the rise of torts--which he admits is not desirable--is the last resort of a society that has abandoned contracts and…

And shifts much of the other aid packages over to grants: Brown University is eliminating tuition for students whose parents earn less than $60,000, after decisions by fellow Ivy League universities to bolster financial aid as their endowments grow. The university, in Providence, R.I., said on…

This is really cool: a building that is not only environmentally friendy (low energy use, low impact building materials, passive heating and cooling, and so on), but also comes with its own hydroponic garden system. What's neat is that this isn't vaporware--China is in the process of building a…

So, I received this award from skippy, with the stipulation that I award ten other bloggers with the coveted E. After two days of consideration, which gave others the chance to award the oodles of bloggers I wanted give the E to, I am left with a list of ten. So, in no particular order, here…

A while back I wrote about how the Office of Human Research Protection (OHRP) had blocked the implementation of a checklist for ICUs that would most likely prevent roughly 20,000 deaths from infectious disease annually. ScienceBlogling Revere reports that the OHRP has reversed its decision (…

A very quick thought about Oliver Willis' observation that African-American turnout will likely be very high in the Democratic Texas primary (also see Amanda and Sonia). One of the things that did Tom DeLay in was excessive gerrymandering (gerrymandering is where voting districts are shaped in such…

...let's elect more scientists to office. A good place to start would be physicist and congressional candidate Bill Foster, one of the developers of the Irving-Michigan-Brookhaven proton decay detector. Darksyde has a good description of Foster's research. Go here to find out more about Foster.

In response to my post about the ludicrous rightwing charge that Obama is a result of a Communist interracial breeding plot, Graculus writes: I understand that Barack Obama has a black child. Heh. (It's reference to the sliming of McCain by Bush in 2000, who had operatives spread rumors that McCain…

I think Republicans want to be cast as cartoon villains. In California, Republicans have twice prevented a Democratic measure (supported by Republican governor Schwarzenegger) that would fix a loophole that allows yacht owners to avoid paying their sales tax. Really. Keep in mind this isn't an…

...because then it's either Huckabee or Romney. And both of those guys scare me. I have no idea if Porkgate is even a real scandal, but, if you're a Democrat, you want to run against McCain. I realize that's contrary to the conventional wisdom (which, remember, decreed that McCain's candidacy…

According to Boston's The Weekly Dig, Massachusetts is casting about for a new state seal. The current one definitely needs improvement: It's one of the oldest symbols in the US. That may be part of the problem; many think it's outdated. On Wednesday, the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural…

By way of maha (and also Roger Ailes the Good), I came across this screed from the conservative National Review's website (italics mine): ... Obama and I are roughly the same age. I grew up in liberal circles in New York City--a place to which people who wished to rebel against their upbringings…

Tristero came up with a list of thirteen things that the rightwing media does to craft its message. I've 'repurposed' and changed them for creationists. Here's the list with some commentary: 1. Highlight a quote from the opponent out of context from a speech or interview. (unchanged from…

This is genius.

A lot of my fellow ScienceBloglings have written about the attempts in many Floridian municipalities to weaken biology education, so I won't waste bandwidth revisiting that here. But what amazed when I read this article about Floridian voters' views of evolution was the response to the question "…

...and it's pretty damn good. So I got an email from ScienceBlogling Orac about an autism 'hub' he's putting together, so, having belatedly checked my email, I'm moving this post up. In the Sunday NY Times, Public Editor Clark Hoyt describes the Times' policy for covering autism-vaccination…

And they have HUGE POINTY TEETH too: That's one tough bunny.

Lest the humanities feel neglected, the Republican War on Art keeps chugging along. In Bush's 2009 budget, the arts take massive hits across the board, with the sole exception of much needed maintenance funding of the Smithsonian. But first, by way of the Boston Phoenix, let's look at the most…

A couple of weeks ago, I described how the collapse of bond insurers meant that it will be harder and more expensive for state and local governments to float bonds, which means you'll get fewer government services and have to pay higher taxes, mostly property taxes, for them. Well, Bit Shitpile…

Sara Robinson continues her assault on the lies surrounding healthcare. One target--'rationed' healthcare. We'll have rationed care Don't look now: but America does ration care. And it does it in the most capricious, draconian, and often dishonest way possible. Mostly, the US system rations care…

I agree with ScienceBlogling Sandra: many biologists need to know SQL. She has some very helpful links if you don't know much (or anything) about SQL.

The NY Times asks about Peter Peterson, "Can the co-founder of the Blackstone Group who has scored riches from a controversial tax break emerge as a credible voice in favor of fiscal constraint in Washington?" Of course, he can. He just has to be clever about what he means by "fiscal constraint…

I've criticized Democratic Congressman Reyes before, so it's worth noting when he gets something right. Here's a letter Reyes wrote to Little Lord Pontchartrain: Dear Mr. President: The Preamble to our Constitution states that one of our highest duties as public officials is to "provide for the…