Fun with Politics
bushwells | December 10, 2007
Through the initiatives of citizens - and voters - who take a keen interest in science and technology and governmental policies directed toward these, a proposal for a presidential candidates' debate on issues of science and technology is now on the table. The background for this initiative may be found at The Intersection here on Science Blogs: Call for a Presidential Science Debate. SciBlings Chris and Sheril, along with Matthew Chapman, Lawrence Krauss and many others have teamed together to sound the clarion call for genuine responses from the candidates. Krauss has written an op-ed…
jfiore | December 6, 2007Mitt Romney gave his speech on religion today at the George Bush library. Read it here. It's filled with the usual horseshit that one might expect from a man like Mitt:
"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.
Really? Freedom requires religion? What a novel concept. It always appeared to me that religion suppresses freedom. Does anyone really need to subscribe to dogma in order to "discover (their) most…
jfiore | August 3, 2007Here's a nice article by Froma Harrop on Real Clear Politics. The upshot is that all is not well in the Heartland, that there is a growing unease in America, and it's not just about Iraq. Consider the opener:
Now and then, a conservative columnist wonders why Americans have grown so sour about the country's future. After all, unemployment is low and stocks are rising. Sure, there's anger over the Iraq war and immigration, but things can't be that bad with the economy humming happily in the background. The implication: There's little troubling you that a trip to Circuit City couldn't fix.…
jfiore | June 5, 2007The 2005 Energy Policy Act is known by some as being written by the energy lobby and by others as containing things down right goofy. One provision creates what are known as energy transmission corridors. Supposedly, the idea is to lower energy costs and increase security (is there anything that's done by the government these days that doesn't have the word security thrown in?) Here is a map of the draft Mid-Atlantic corridor. You will note that most of New York State is within the corridor with the exception of the southwestern portion and a chunk of the Adirondack Mountains.
Now I'm all…
jfiore | March 21, 2007A recent analysis of the performance of our current president relative to that of someone many folks like to make fun of reveals a surprising conclusion.
Top Ten Reasons Paris Hilton Would've Made a Better President than G.W. Bush
10. Not beholden to the religious right.
9. Too distracted by self-promotion to actually follow Rove's Machiavellian machinations.
8. Her idea of an unavoidable foreign entanglement is driving a convertible down the Autobahn without wearing a hat.
7. Wouldn't have tried to out-do her father.
6. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer but at least she realizes it.
5.…
bushwells | November 8, 2006Well, actually he's a physicist, but that's the slogan of a popular bumper sticker here in the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey. Rush Holt, the Democratic incumbent, won handily in yesterday's election. I squirmed when voting for the Democratic senatorial candidate, Bob Menendez, who carries a whiff of the notorious Jersey political machine, but given the alternative (Kean, Jr., a Bush sycophant), the choice was clear. However, when casting my vote for Holt, I felt good. I confidently pressed the button next to Holt's name on the electronic ballot, pumped my fist in the air and…
jfiore | October 24, 2006Suppose you were told that a candidate for congress, while serving as the county DA some years earlier, had gone to New York City for a conference. While there, records show that he made a call to a phone sex number. The DA, in response, does not deny that the call was made but asserts he didn't make it, but rather an aide did, and besides, it was a wrong number. Who would you believe? What if the source of the information to begin with was the National Republican Congressional Committee? Well, if you had already seen this article, you might just reflexively ignore the NRCC.
What? Ignore it?…
jfiore | October 18, 2006The Military Commissions Act Blues (with apologies to Don McLean)
Bye-bye to our old Bill of Rights
Heard a lawyer in the foyer: "How'd we fall from such heights?"
With Congress's twits helping turn off the lights,
Our King George declares that "Habeas bites!"
Congratulations America, with the president's signing of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 we are now in a Habeas Corpus Optional zone. This Act allows the president (or a tribunal selected by him) to disallow a writ of Habeas Corpus for any "unlawful enemy". While this is bad enough, there is nothing in the Act that prevents any US…
jfiore | October 17, 2006I live in the 24th Congressional District of New York State. For over 20 years we were represented by Sherwood Boehlert, a moderate Republican (a real moderate, that is). Congressman Boehlert decided to retire this year and we now have what is considered to be one of the hottest races in the country; the Republicans trying to keep the seat with Ray Meier, a NY state senator and in my opinion no way comparable to to Boehlert, and the Democrats trying to tip the balance in their favor with Oneida County DA Michael Arcuri.
I have mentioned elsewhere that I feel Mr. Meier is a poor choice,…
jfiore | October 13, 2006If you're like many SciBlog readers you probably have an interest in just how well your elected representatives are truly representing you, whether it's concerning stem cell research, same-sex marriage, church-state separation issues, or what-have-you. For convenient one stop shopping, take a trip over to secular.org, specifically, to their congressional scorecard. You can see a country-wide overview, find the votes for individual representatives, and read details of specific bills. From the web site:
The roll call votes used by the Secular Coalition for America in these scorecards are…
jfiore | September 15, 2006I was reading David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding the other day and came across a lovely item. Mind you, I tend not to wallow in philosophy texts, but I find the occasional jaunt into the realm a welcome relief from my usual reading in science and politics. Given the inevitable connection between religion and politics that will once again be thrust upon us by the talking heads for the midterm elections, whether you call them "values voters", "moralistic moms", or just plain "over-zealous, domineering, jingoistic, superstitious pinheads", this quote hit home:
There is no…
jfiore | August 9, 2006So, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut lost his Democratic primary bid to Ned Lamont, 48 to 52 percent. Many have suggested that it was Lieberman's apparent "cozyness" with the Bush administration that did him in. I was never either a fan nor a detractor of Lieberman, but I thought that maybe he was not the best face for the party. In short, I felt that he had all the charm, excitement, and charisma of a bottle opener. Functional in certain instances, perhaps, but nothing to wrote home about. In any case, the people of Connecticut have spoken. But that, of course, doesn't mean that…
jfiore | July 26, 2006The other day I picked up the September issue of Running Times and noted an item concerning the ACLI Capital Challenge. The Capital Challenge is a three mile road race open to teams representing the three branches of the federal government and the media. The proceeds benefit the District of Columbia Special Olympics. This year they raised a record $16,800. My reaction to this is two-fold. First, I think it's great that senators, congressmen, judges, etc. can get together and raise money for a worthy charity. Second, I am amazed at the miniscule amount they raised when compared to the sums…
jfiore | July 21, 2006I have little doubt that George W. Bush likes to think of himself as a protector of the good and a promoter of life. As evidence, I offer his recent veto of HR 810, the stem cell research bill. His remarks indicated that he was concerned about destroying human life. So concerned, apparently, that it caused him to cast the first veto of his presidency, some five and a half years after taking office. A closer look, however, reveals that Mr. Bush is not so much a defender of life but a destroyer of it. I don't mean to imply that he wanders around with a gun shooting people, after all, he has a…
jfiore | July 6, 2006I meant to post this shorty the other day, but as they say, better late than never.
As this is science blogs, I think it's fitting to remember what one of the founders of the USA had to say about July 4. The following is from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in response to a request that he attend a 50 year anniversary celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1826. Jefferson was too ill to attend, and died on that date, within hours of fellow countryman John Adams.
The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that…
jfiore | June 26, 2006OK, I've got nothing but good things to say about Warren Buffett's announcement that he's giving $37 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Well, other than that I wonder how we've managed to create a system where someone can amass that much in the first place, but I digress. $37 billion can do an amazing amount of good and is sorely needed when we've got an administration that seems to think that any government action (other than war) is bad, especially when it's aimed at people in need. But that's the rub. Buffett's gift amounts to around 4% of current projections of what the…
jfiore | June 12, 2006Sometimes the little things mean a lot. I normally get out of bed around 6:00 AM. In the foothills of the Adirondacks in mid June, this means that the sky has been light for an hour. I like this. For whatever reason, my brain just doesn't want to fully engage in the morning when it's dark out. This makes the winter months a drag, but come summer, I'm in heaven. Mind you, I don't need it to be light at 4:00 AM so I am a big fan of Daylight Savings Time (DST). I love the extra hour of sun in the evening, seeing the final rays disappear well after 9:00 PM.
One of the ideas behind DST was energy…