Politics
evolvingthoughts | December 29, 2008In the final chapter of Terry Pratchett's Eric, the wizard Rincewind and the boy Eric are climbing out of hell on steep steps.
He looked down at the broad steps they were climbing. They were something of a novelty; each one was built out of large stone letters. The one he was just stepping onto, for example, read: I Meant It For The Best.
The next one was: I Thought You'd Like It.
Eric was standing on: For The Sake Of The Children.
"Weird, isn't it?" he said. "Why do it like this?"
"I think they're meant to be good intentions," said Rincewind. This was meant to be a road to Hell, and demons…
pharyngula | December 28, 2008Another casualty in the War on Drugs: an enthusiastic science student, of the sort that would normally go on to be a scientist, is arrested for having a chemistry lab.
A Canadian college student majoring in chemistry built himself a home lab - and discovered that trying to do science in your own home quickly leads to accusations of drug-making and terrorism.
Lewis Casey, an 18-year-old in Saskatchewan, had built a small chemistry lab in his family's garage near the university where he studies. Then two weeks ago, police arrived at his home with a search warrant and based on a quick survey…
jstemwedel | December 27, 2008Dr. Isis expresses reservations about signing on for Twisty Faster's revolution.
ScienceWoman offers a sketch of what her revolution might look like.
Me? I'm pretty exhausted from today's outing with my offspring, what with it being Winter Break, otherwise known as 24/7 parenting. But I have a few brief ideas of what I'd like to see on the post-revolutionary landscape.
It would be a joyous thing for us to create a world -- professional, civic, social, familial -- where each individual human being is regarded as fully human, rather than as part of some special category not deserving of our…
clock | December 27, 2008Researchers Hope Obama Team Will Reinvigorate Role of Science Adviser:
In recent years, though, some critics have charged that the science adviser's influence has reached another low under President George W. Bush....
"Some critics"? Like, the entire scientific community? The entire science blogosphere? All the science journalists? Because of the obvious fact that the Bush Presidency is the pinnacle of the Republican disdain for reality, empiricism and science. Governing from the gut instead of from the brain. Governing by listening to direct messages from the Lord.
Because the…
grrlscientist | December 26, 2008tags: farewell from GW, satire, humor, will ferrell, streaming video
Will Ferrell does a splendid farewell imitation of our favorite lame-duck asshole, George Bush [1:31]
evolvingthoughts | December 23, 2008Damn it's hot. Around here, snow is at a premium, which means our solstitial celebrations are less active than those oop north. Anyway, I got interviewed last night on national radio, the ABC's National Evening show, talking about the early ideas of philosophy to presenter Rhys Muldoon. Nice fellow. It was more like a chat than an interview (which means I did most of the talking, as my chats tend to). It seems I am the sole contactable philosopher in Australia.
So anyway, to entertain you there are some pre-solstitial items just announced. First off, I'm going to put all the internet…
j7uy5 | December 23, 2008GlaxoSmithKline, also known -- to old-timers -- as
GlaxoWellcomeSmithKlineBeecham, has elected to halt all political
contributions. Almost. The corporation itself will not make
any contributions, after having made a total of $585,425 to candidates
in the USA in 2008. It will facilitate PAC activity by its employees.
GlaxoSmithKline to halt political contributions
LONDON (AP) -- The London-based international drug firm GlaxoSmithKline
announced Monday a global ban on corporate political contributions.
The primary impact will be in the United States and Canada, where the
company has been…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008tags: Santa Claus Bailout Hearings, satire, humor, christmas, streaming video
C-SPAN coverage of Santa Claus asking Congress for a financial bailout of the North Pole Gift Giving Industry. If they don't approve his aid package, Christmas may be ruined. [4:34]
gregladen | December 23, 2008Most of the work related to the ongoing recount in the Minnesota Senate race ended week when the canvassing board went through almost all of the challenged ballots, assigning them to either Franken, Coleman, or "other." Many ballot challenges issued earlier by one campaign or the other were withdrawn but for clerical reasons could not be considered yet. In this way, the week ended with Franken ahead by over 250 votes.
The challenged-then-withdrawn ballots have been re-entered into the count unofficially, and the canvassing board will verify those data today and adjust the count…
catdynamics | December 22, 2008"Warning: A dangerous new virus, FIV, is rapidly spreading the globe."
Links are good.
Part 2 is here
PS: no endorsement of actual economic policies implied.
Just thought it was amusing.
clock | December 22, 2008There is no clearer and better example of Artificial controversy than the War on Christmas, as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity re-invent it every year in order to boost their tanking ratings. What War on Christmas? Just drive along a street and see all the lights on houses, go into a store and look at the merchandise while listening to the Christmas music, peer into people's windows to see decorated Christmas trees and presents, or turn on any radio station - Christmas is everywhere.
But, believe it or not, there are people who are even stupider than O'Reilly and Hannity - people who really…
gregladen | December 22, 2008Last night, I had a horrible dream... and no, this isn't the famous "I Had a Dream" speech. Frankly, I think that one could use a rest.
No, in my dream it was 12 noon, so naturally I tuned in for my daily dose of conservative news and commentary from the greatest political talk show host in the history of radio.
As I imagined one half of a giant brain being tied behind a familiar back, just to make it fair, the familiar bass notes from "My City Was Gone" throbbed, and the announcer's voice boomed...
"Ladies and gentleman... in accordance with Fairness Doctrine broadcasting regulations...…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008tags: Iraq shoe throwing store discount sale, satire, humor, streaming video
And now, just in time for your last-minute christmas shopping needs, Iraq's #1 Discount Shoe Emporium offers a discount on all their slip-on throwing shoes! [1:22]
gregladen | December 21, 2008"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that backwards. The above quote was Norm Coleman telling us that Al Franken should bow out of the senate race back when Coleman was ahead by between 200 and 300 points, and prior to the legally mandated recount. Now that the recount is virtually over and it is Franken ahead by between 200 and 300…
gregladen | December 21, 2008"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that backwards. The above quote was Norm Coleman telling us that Al Franken should bow out of the senate race back when Coleman was ahead by between 200 and 300 points, and prior to the legally mandated recount. Now that the recount is virtually over and it is Franken ahead by between 200 and 300…
gregladen | December 21, 2008"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that backwards. The above quote was Norm Coleman telling us that Al Franken should bow out of the senate race back when Coleman was ahead by between 200 and 300 points, and prior to the legally mandated recount. Now that the recount is virtually over and it is Franken ahead by between 200 and 300…
catdynamics | December 20, 2008Varmus and Lander co-chair Presidential Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.
h/t ScienceDebate2008
primary source here - good speech.
Harold Varmus and Eric Lander both biology/medicine oriented.
I said The Big O would need some biologists onboard in some authoritative positions.
And so he did.
Hmmm.
Nah...
Anyway, big question is what role PCAST will play within the administration - whether it will have a seat at the table as it were.
I suspect Holdren will listen to Varmus and Lander, but will Obama listen to Holdren?
We will soon know.
I think he will. Sensible chap.
Next the…
pharyngula | December 20, 2008We're learning more about what Obama is actually going to do in office, and while there are some negatives, right now the positives outweigh them.
Let's get the bad decisions out of the way first.
Rick Warren, professional homophobe, bigot, and smirking airhead, will be prominently promoted in the invocation at the inauguration. This is a symbolic slap to the face of rationalists and GLBT citizens of our country, and is not a good sign.
The man who will be the Interior Secretary, a position which should be concerned about conservation of the country's natural resources and which has been…
clock | December 20, 2008Because the truth is that promoting science isn't just about providing resources--it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient--especially when it's inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States--and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.
Read the…
ddobbs | December 19, 2008E.J. Dionne makes an interesting observation about Obama's pick of Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education.
Because Duncan gets along with teachers unions but is also seen as a reformer, his selection was interpreted as a politically shrewd, split-the-difference choice. But that is not the whole story. Lurking behind Obama's talk about getting beyond ideology and stale disputes is an effort to undercut the success that conservatives have enjoyed in framing arguments that leave Democrats and liberals at an automatic disadvantage.
To declare that the only test of a politician's commitment to…