jlynch | September 11, 2006Western societies are losing their souls to scientific rationality and frightening believers in the developing world who still fear God, Pope Benedict told an open-air Mass in Germany yesterday.
Benedict -- on the second day of a visit to his native Bavaria-- said that spreading the word of Jesus Christ was more important than all the emergency and development aid that rich churches like those in Germany gave to poor countries.
He also stressed the role of faith in fighting AIDS "by realistically facing its deeper causes," indirectly confirming the Church view that pre-marital abstinence and…
jlynch | September 10, 2006 College football has been back for a while but I haven't been free to post much. Last night, ASU (ranked 25th) beat Nevada 52-21 with Rudy Carpenter throwing a career-high five touchdowns. Much to be happy about after an unimpressive win the previous week against the NAU Lumberjacks. While the defense was solid and WRs Nate Kimbrough and Chris McGaha totalled 123 yards, the running game was sporadic and offensive errors led to 14 of Nevada's 21 points. There's still plenty of room for improvement and Saturday's game in Colorado should let us know if ASU can have a good season.
jlynch | September 8, 2006
See the moon is once more risingAbove our our land of black and greenHear the rebels voice is calling"I shall not die, though you bury me!"Hear the Aunt in bed a-dying"Where is my Johnny?"Faded pictures in the hallwayWhich one of these brown ghosts is he?
Fare thee well my black haired diamondFare the well my own AislingThoughts of and dreams of you will haunt me'Till I come back home again
And the wind it blowsTo the North and SouthAnd blows to the East and WestI'll be just like that wind my loveFor I will have no rest'Til I return to thee
Bless the wind that shakes the barleyCurse the…
jlynch | September 5, 2006Then
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
Subtext ... we're too busy figuring out excuses for invading Iraq
Now
"History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake. Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say?" - G.W. Bush, 9/5/06
Amazing the difference being close to mid-term elections makes. As John…
jlynch | September 5, 2006It is to our deep national shame--and ultimately it will be to the President's deep personal regret--that he has followed his Secretary of Defense down the path of trying to tie those loyal Americans who disagree with his policies--or even question their effectiveness or execution--to the Nazis of the past, and the al Qaeda of the present.
Today, in the same subtle terms in which Mr. Bush and his colleagues muddied the clear line separating Iraq and 9/11 -- without ever actually saying so--the President quoted a purported Osama Bin Laden letter that spoke of launching, "a media campaign to…
jlynch | September 4, 2006Denyse O'Leary is an ID shill and journalist. Today she's touting a "new evo devo spoof site". "New" as in online since at least 2001 and I remember seeing this in the late 90's. (The original "Science Made Stupid" book was from 1986, round about the time scientific creationism was morphing into intelligent design.)
This is "new" in the same way the ID is a "new science for a new century."
jlynch | September 3, 2006Gabriele Amorth, Benedict XVI's senior exorcist, president of the International Association of Exorcists, and a man who claims to have exorcized over 30,000 demons, says:
"I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the devil.
You can tell by their behavior and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That's why we need to defend society from demons."
So, the Nazi's were possessed by demons (a.k.a. invisible spirits).…
jlynch | September 1, 2006The first two weeks of the semester are usually hell, and this year they did not disappoint. Unfortunately for me, the coming week isn't going to be any easier. I have a workshop on argumentative writing to prepare, along with a presentation to the ASU Biology & Society group (on my research interests). Both of these are due for Tuesday. For Wednesday, I have Plato's Timaeus to prepare (my first time teaching this notoriously difficult text) and Thursday sees me teaching Newton's Principia, no cake-walk either. Friday will be welcomed with open arms.
jlynch | September 1, 2006Talking In Bed
Talking in bed ought to be easiest,Lying together there goes back so far,An emblem of two people being honest.Yet more and more time passes silently.Outside, the wind's incomplete unrestBuilds and disperses clouds in the sky,And dark towns heap up on the horizon.None of this cares for us. Nothing shows whyAt this unique distance from isolationIt becomes still more difficult to findWords at once true and kind,Or not untrue and not unkind.
Philip Larkin
jlynch | August 30, 2006Apparently, I'm a liberal. Whoda thunk it?
Liberals represent 17 percent of the American public, and 19 percent of registered voters.
Basic DescriptionThis group has nearly doubled in proportion since 1999, Liberals now comprise the largest share of Democrats and is the single largest of the nine Typology groups. They are the most opposed to an assertive foreign policy, the most secular, and take the most liberal views on social issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and censorship. They differ from other Democratic groups in that they are strongly pro-environment and pro-immigration,…
jlynch | August 30, 2006Long-time readers may remember that over the summer my SciBlings and I raised funds for K-12 science projects using DonorsChoose.org. With the start of the school year, we're hearing back from the teachers. Below are two notes I recently received:
Dear Dr. Lynch, I cannot thank you enough for funding this project for my students! I told them that our new aquarium is on its way, and they can scarcely contain their excitement. Your generosity will enhance their learning and growth throughout the entire year. Thank you for giving my children this opportunity. Joyfully, Cheryl Bommarito Klein (…
jlynch | August 29, 2006Contrary to the claims of certain IDologists, the new director of the Vatican Observatory, Fr. Jose Funes, has stated that the rumors that Fr. Coyne was replaced because of his stance on Intelligent Design were "absolutely false" and that Coyne requested in May to be replaced (source). Kind of makes the following from Denyse O' Leary all the more enjoyable:
Apparently, Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education (called by some here the "National Center for Selling Evolution") has attempted to spin Fr. Coyne's departure as a normal retirement. He told Dick Fischer at the ASA…
jlynch | August 28, 2006
In May I reported on marmots allegedly killing cats in Washington. Now it seems the raccoons are in on the action and "a gang of raccoons that shows no fear has killed at least 10 cats and attacked several more."
But, they look so cute ...
jlynch | August 28, 2006The maintenance of intellectually sound K-12 science standards involves the work of people at many levels - scientists, educators, school board members, and the general public. I have been privileged to work with numerous great people over the years here in Arizona on just this issue, one such individual being Steve Rissing who is now at Ohio State University. Steve continues to fight the good fight, and if you are in Ohio, you too can help him and the people at Ohio Citizens for Science.
If you're in Ohio, please read this post by Ed Brayton and act on it. As Ed notes, school board elections…
jlynch | August 27, 2006
I first posted this picture on September 8th 2005 in the wake of the ineptitude shown by the administration with their handling of Hurricane Katrina. As we approach the anniversary of the hurricane's second landfall on August 29th 2005 at Louisiana, we've little to convince us that the boy king hasn't been "one of the worst disasters to hit the U.S." If anything, Bush's resume is looking worse and worse.
As Maureen Dowd wrote last year:
"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," [Bush] told Diane Sawyer. ... Why does this self-styled "can do" president always lapse into…
jlynch | August 27, 2006
Some of you may have read this New York Times article about a 23 year old Korean by the name of Jeong-Hyun Lim who plays a mean version of Pachabel's Canon in D. I'm not a huge fan of electric guitar, but this is certainly impressive.
jlynch | August 26, 2006
To A Child Dancing In The Wind
Dance there upon the shore;
What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool's triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won,
Nor the best labourer dead
And all the sheaves to bind.
What need have you to dread
The monstrous crying of wind?
William Butler Yeats, 1916.
jlynch | August 26, 2006Jonathan Wells is at it again. Erstwhile "developmental biologist," he has taken time off "working on a book criticizing the over-emphasis on genes in biology and medicine" to present a Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, one that is approved of by Ann Coulter, who sees Wells as "an expert of Darwinism and intelligent design". To be fair, this is probably true - Wells is an expert in the same way that Coulter is an expert on science and history.
In any case, over at the Thumb, the crew have begun to put together a chapter by chapter response to Wells' dreck. As…