government
drorzel | February 3, 2010In the wake of recent political developments, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about why Democrats in Congress are so spineless, and have been unable to pass meaningful legislation despite huge majorities. After thinking about my travel plans last night, I think I have the key to the Grand Unified Theory of American politics.
The problem is not that Democratic politicians are uniquely craven, or venal, or anything like that. The problem is Washington, DC.
No, this is not a prelude to some right-wing rant about how the Real America can be found only in states with more livestock than…
awild | February 1, 2010A first glance at Obama's proposed 2011 budget, and I feel relief. Given earlier rumors of a freeze on discretionary spending I had feared the worst, but it seems our government is investing heavily in science as way out of the current economic mess. The National Science Foundation (NSF) may see an 8% increase- great news for biologists! NSF is the primary source of support in this country for basic science, including myrmecology.
Incidentally, the New York Times' graphics department deserves a raise. Their simple interactive summaries of complex issues are absolutely brilliant- the…
jstemwedel | February 1, 2010Here are some of the thoughts and questions that stayed with me from this session. (Here are my tweets from the session and the session's wiki page.)
One of the things I found interesting about this session was that the session leaders' approach to the broad issue of promoting gender and ethnic diversity in science, engineering, technology, and M [mathematics here? I get the impression that sometimes the M in STEM is math and sometimes it's medicine, but I'm happy to set this taxonomic issue aside] was to look at particular initiatives, activities, or responses from smaller communities…
grrlscientist | August 21, 2009tags: socialized health care, Bill Maher, humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, social commentary, streaming video
I am one of more than 40 million Americans who cannot afford health care -- and I think America SHOULD have government-funded health care, as Bill Maher points out so eloquently in less than two minutes.
When I had surgery (to place a titanium plate into my badly fractured wrist) in Finland, my hospital gown covered everything, and it was made from real fabric, not that see-through tissue paper that is used in American hospitals. So Maher's observation has more merit than…
sciencepunk | June 25, 2009Today the motion for creating a dedicated committee to oversee science policy across Government was discussed in Parliament. Good news, we're getting it back. The Campaign for Science & Engineering had this to say:
The Campaign for Science & Engineering (CaSE) warmly welcomed the House of Commons' decision to establish the Science and Technology Committee. CaSE lobbied for it to be established following the merger of DIUS and BIS. In today's debate Phil Willis MP commended CaSE's efforts to bring back the Science and Technology Committee.
Commenting Nick Dusic, CaSE's Director, said…
sciencepunk | June 12, 2009As expected, the special report issued by the IUSS Committee recommends the creation of a dedicated committee overseeing science policy in the UK Government. See my report at the Guardian Science Blog:
The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee issued a special report today calling on the government to safeguard scrutiny of science policy following the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The report recommends that proposals for the creation of a separate science and…
sciencepunk | June 9, 2009I'm in the Guardian again, talking about the Government's decision to scrap the two-year old Department for Innovation, Universities, and Skills in favour of incorporating these duties into the Department for Business. Science is in a vulnerable position at the moment:
As the dust settles following Gordon Brown's cabinet shuffle on Friday, it's clear that the landscape of British science has been transformed. Where the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills once stood, now only a vacant lot and several skips filled with DIUS-branded stationery remain. If the forwarding address is…
bioephemera | April 28, 2009Just as an FYI, Sheril at the Intersection has created this extremely helpful list of policy fellowships for scientists and engineers. It's definitely worth bookmarking if you have any interest in exploring science policy. The fellowships on this list range from weeks to years, and placements are available throughout the federal government, in science agencies and on the Hill.
grrlscientist | March 30, 2009tags: politics, good citizenship, humor, America, streaming video
This streaming video provides essential educational advice to Americans on how to be good citizens -- I was especially impressed with Mary's frugal meals, but seriously, she'd spend le$$ if she stopped eating meat altogether! [10:39]
Hattip: Travelgirl.
amillikan | February 26, 2009Last weekend, a letter from acting NIH director Raynard S. Kington was distributed to NIH investigators and began making the rounds in the blogosphere as well. The letter detailed specific plans for the $8.2 billion of NIH funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package. ScienceBloggers immediately expressed fear that a dramatic increase in funding could lead to a repeat of the 1990s "lost generation" crisis, when young scientists attracted by generous grants found themselves without career opportunities when funding failed to keep pace with demand. A lively…
drorzel | January 14, 2009A few years ago, the after-dinner speaker at the DAMOP conference banquet was Presidential Science Advisor John Marburger. As I wrote at the time, I think it's safe to say that he didn't make a positive impression on the audience. It also sparked a rather lively discussion afterwards, that some people speculated was the reason for the veiled threats we got the next year.
The Corporate Masters have just published an exclusive post-election interview with Marburger. I read it with some interest, mostly to see if it would change my impression of him.
I have to say, it didn't. Not only does he…