Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
mikethemadbiologist
Posts by this author
January 26, 2010
It's always seemed to me that nuclear power would have to be part of the solution of the global warming problem: even if the planet's population were to remain constant, and even if planet-wide energy use were to remain steady, we would still have to dramatically cut CO2 per capita emissions. The…
January 25, 2010
Merry Monday. Links for you:
Public Knowledge of Science: The More Things Change, the More They Don't
Blog for choice: I'm pro-choice because I love life
I think maybe part of the reason you're so angry is you keep demanding that you get screwed and then, not surprisingly, you keep getting screwed…
January 25, 2010
In the battle of ideas, what things are called matters (e.g., the 'death tax' instead of the estate tax). So I'm utterly puzzled as to why Paul Krugman is calling the current state of play in healthcare centrist:
The fact is that the Senate bill is a centrist document, which moderate Republicans…
January 24, 2010
I made this point Wednesday, but Steve Singiser breaks down the numbers:
But the "tack back to the center" crowd ignores a critical stat from yesterday evening: 44% of the people who cast a ballot for Barack Obama in 2008 in the state of Massachusetts either (a) cast a vote for Scott Brown, (b)…
January 23, 2010
Happy Saturday. Science links:
Gene and protein annotation: it's worse than you thought
The Platypus Is Cute but Far From Harmless
Slime Mold Beats Humans at Perfecting Traffic Networks
Most Britons descended from male farmers who left Iraq and Syria 10,000 years ago (and were seduced by the local…
January 23, 2010
...about President Obama. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seems to be one of the few politicians in the Democratic caucus (not party, though) who understands just how dire the Democrats' prospects are:
In my view, the Democrats--including the president--have absurdly continued to stumble along the…
January 22, 2010
Well, he didn't say it in Latin (that would have been very French. Or something). But this report is very encouraging:
Democratic insiders say they are weighing several options to save health care reform, and one actually may be bold enough to revive a depressed, turned-off Democratic base: use…
January 21, 2010
I think this is only part of the story, but it seems that the 'Democratic Machine' in Massachusetts might have slipped a gear:
"Nobody likes her" says mom. What she means is, Coakley had no friends in politics. The Democrats in Massachusetts let this happen because - "I don't know" says mom.
Maybe…
January 21, 2010
Keep in mind that eighteen percent of those who voted for Obama in 2008 voted for Brown--if Coakley had kept half of these voters (or even a third), she wins. Now my head goes boom:
HEALTH CARE BILL OPPONENTS THINK IT "DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH"
by 3 to 2 among Obama voters who voted for Brown
by 6…
January 21, 2010
In response to my post about the scientist glut, ScienceBlogling Razib writes:
But that aside, what's the point of funneling more math and physics graduates into math and physics instead of finance if they can't put bread on the table? Or is the issue narrower, specifically the difficulty of…
January 20, 2010
These will have to be some quick hits, since I'm at a meeting; I'll try to revisit them later this week:
1) The absolute numbers indicate that Democrats lost this election:
In 2008, Obama received 1,904,097 votes; in 2009, Coakley received 1,058,682.
In 2008, McCain received 1,108,854 votes; in…
January 20, 2010
File this under caveat mutuor. Henry Blodget points out the obvious in his retort to those who claim people have a moral obligation to remain in mortgages that are 'underwater' (paying more than the house is worth)--it's a business contract. Blodget (italics mine):
Importantly, the reason is not…
January 20, 2010
A minor kerfuffle has erupted around healthcare expert and MIT professor Jonathan Gruber, with some fireworks between Glenn Greenwald and Paul Krugman. Gruber has received $392,600 in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to model healthcare outcomes. The argument has…
January 19, 2010
Happy Traveling Tuesday! Links for you:
Rebooting science journalisTS
More Flame Bait
Inflation Targets and Financial Crises
The Unofficial List of Pundits/Experts Who Were Wrong on the Housing Bubble
Poll: Americans think standing for principle is more important than bipartisan compromise.
January 19, 2010
Just to remind all my MA readers--there's a Senate election today. Go vote for Martha Coakley.
January 19, 2010
Since I'm on-route to a Human Microbiome Project meeting (uncharacteristically, it's being held in a climate-friendly location--Houston; last year, it was held in Boston. In January.), reviewing this paper about the GEBA project, the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea, seemed appropriate…
January 18, 2010
Go teabaggers, go! Of course, in all fairness, maybe he was smiling and nodding at the previous outburst suggesting Coakley commit suicide. I suppose that's what passes for moderation these days. He could have disavowed the comment, but he didn't (it even sounds like he says, "We could do that…
January 18, 2010
If you're in Massachusetts, there's a special election for U.S. Senate tomorrow, and it's much closer than it should be--the Republican Scott Brown (who is horrid--who votes to eliminate tax breaks and aid for 9/11 emergency responders?) might actually win. There are several reasons why I'm voting…
January 18, 2010
Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
With ten percent unemployment, and nearly eighteen percent underemployment--and much of the political establishment unconcerned about this--Martin Luther King's passion for economic justice sadly is still relevant. What is forgotten about Kings--often willfully--is that…
January 17, 2010
Nice day yesterday, but snow tomorrow. Anyway, links for you. Science:
Illumina announces new arrival in the sequencing arms race
Monsanto GM Corn Linked to Organ Damage in Animals
Groups ask U.S. to regulate shipping of commercial bumblebees
Can Obama Stop the War on Science?
Other:
It's Not…
January 17, 2010
By way of ScienceBlogling Sharon Astyk, I came across this piece that argues that much of political paralysis the U.S. suffers from is due to a dearth of effective community organizations:
The key to understanding the power of citizens' organizations is that representative democracy doesn't respond…
January 16, 2010
...that Lieberman and Snowe were not acting in good faith on healthcare. First, TPM on Republican Senator Olympia Snowe:
Hindsight's 20-20, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now thinks he and leading Democrats, at the behest of the White House, flushed months down the toilet courting Sen.…
January 16, 2010
The Economist responds to economist Eugene Fama, who said:
I didn't renew my subscription to The Economist because they use the world bubble three times on every page.
The Economist:
Obviously, we are disappointed to have lost Mr Fama's business. But I can't say we regret the cause.
UPDATE: An…
January 15, 2010
Thank Intelligent Designer it's Friday. Here are some links. Science:
It's Not Too Late to Get Vaccinated Against H1N1 Flu
Unscientific America and Pluto: The problem isn't the scientists
"Blithering idiocy"
Giant Spider Species Discovered in Middle Eastern Sand Dunes
Climate Denial…
January 15, 2010
It might come as a shock to some, but, temperamentally, I'm conservative, at least when it comes to things that are critical. One of those things is education. So when I read in The Boston Globe that various groups want to increase the number of students in charter schools and also the number of…
January 14, 2010
Happy Thursday. Links for you. Science:
Casey Luskin embarrasses himself again
AIDS Does Not Exist (denialism)
Too clever by, hmmm, about 5% a year
A Tale of Two Flagella
Rare self-rolling giant snow balls found in UK
Other:
Hang 'em High: Never, it seems, have punters been more valuable to NFL…
January 14, 2010
Many grants have what are known as milestones: dates by which certain activities are supposed to occur; with some grants, failure to meet these milestones (or does one pass milestones?) can ultimately result in withdrawal of the grant. There is a lot of grantsmanship involved in milestones. For…
January 13, 2010
To follow up on Tuesday's post about Massachusetts' healthcare, it bears repeating: healthcare reform has to make people's lives better. In other words, people have to like this crap. And this isn't cutting it (boldface mine; italics original):
When it came time to renew my own insurance, I…
January 12, 2010
My apologies about the blog being borked earlier today; I wasn't able to republish the pages for a few hours cuz I had to do TEH SCIENTISMZ!!
Anyway, you might want to read this post about healthcare that was EATED.
January 12, 2010
One of the claims that has been going around is that healthcare in Massachusetts is affordable; in fact, MIT economist Paul Jonathan Gruber, who has come under fire for conflicts-of-interest, has made this claim:
In considering affordability for a group, we need to establish a sensible benchmark…