Politics
grrlscientist | September 25, 2008
Image: donated by a reader who likes to remain anonymous [larger view].
grrlscientist | September 25, 2008tags: election2008 poster suggestions, humor, satire, presidential election, politics
Image: Cracked.com.
I like this poster's Harry Potter theme.
The silliness of this year's presidential elections has some people mocking them. Cracked.com especially, has taken this mocking to a new level, as you can see above from one of their poster suggestions. I have chosen my two favorite posters to show to you, but there are plenty more where those came from!
grrlscientist | September 25, 2008tags: election2008 poster suggestions, humor, satire, presidential election, politics
Image: Cracked.com.
I like this suggested poster's science theme.
The silliness of this year's presidential elections has some people mocking them. Cracked.com especially, has taken this mocking to a new level, as you can see above from one of their poster suggestions. I have chosen my two favorite posters to show to you, but there are plenty more where those came from!
clock | September 25, 2008At the time of complicated economic and financial news, I am reminded that the economic system and the financial system are quite separate in this country. The proposed bailout of the financial system only tangentially affects the economy - banks are needed to give out loans, so banks need to have the ability to do so. But the core of the crisis is the housing mortgage problem - shouldn't the Feds use those $700 billion to pay off all those foreclosures and iffy loans? That would give the banks and lending companies money AND at the same time ensure that people get to keep their houses and…
oracknows | September 25, 2008Less than a month ago, I got a bit perturbed by some vile rhetoric written by a left-wing blogger named Matt Stoller, who referred to John McCain as a "crazy, cancer-ridden dishonest madman." As you recall, I administered a bit of not-so-Respectful Insolence to him. It wasn't so much because I like John McCain. Indeed, I've pretty much decided that McCain is a lost cause, a shadow of his former self. I would have voted for him in 2000, but in the last eight years he's let his ambition to become President utterly destroy whatever honor he had left, a truly sad thing to see given his previous…
clock | September 25, 2008A follow-up on last night's repost (originally from April 06, 2005)...
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I've been wavering in how to call the Right Wing. When I say "conservatives" I get attacked for equating conservatism with GOP (with implication that conservatism is good but GOP is not conservative any more). When I call them Regressives, I am told I miss the point, because they should be described as conservatives. Should I just call them Republicans? Not damning enough. People, make up your minds!
What follows is a mix of stuff I have already written before on this blog…
clock | September 24, 2008An oldie (March 28, 2005) but goodie, bound to stir up the comment section..........
WHAT SHOULD WE CALL THEM?
First, who is "them"? Second, why should they be "called"? Third, who are "we"? Fourth, why "should" we call them anything? Finally, "what" is the appropriate name? These are all interconnected questions, dealing with the current US political environment, and the notion of "framing".
In his book Moral Politics (MP) and later, more explicitely, in "Don't Think Of An Elephant" (DTOAE), George Lakoff struggles with the nomenclature. He is not entirely happy with words "…
pharyngula | September 24, 2008Unbelievable—John McCain runs away and begs for the imminent presidential debate to be delayed, citing the need to address the financial crisis, as if he actually matters and has a plan other than to do whatever the Bush administration orders.
I smell fear.
I was sent a great suggestion: if McCain is going to be curled up in a foetal position somewhere, perhaps they should have the vice-presidential debate instead. She's ready, right?
clock | September 24, 2008Last week, Charlotte NC got to see Joe Biden, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama on three separate occasions. The TV (so they tell me) is full of campaign ads by both Obama and McCain. Now, Obama and Biden are appearing together in Greensboro on Saturday. The campaign has been really busy locally, organizing the feet on the ground.
Does this mean that NC is a surprising swing state of 2008? If NC is indicative of any kind of trend and it goes blue, a dozen other red states will go blue as well.
Or perhaps this is the way for Obama to utilize his money advantage and force McCain to spend money…
grrlscientist | September 24, 2008I just learned that John "Eight McMansions" McCain has decided to suspend his presidential bid until someone fixes the economic mess that he helped the current adminstration get this nation into. Worse, he is going back to Washington DC to erm, "fix" this crisis. And he is telling Barack Obama to do the same.
Quite frankly, since McCain was in Washington DC while all the government deregulations were occurring, and he often supported a free economy (gone wild), I'd much prefer he remains distracted by the campaign and OUT of Washington so he can't do yet MORE damage!
Well, here's what I…
gregladen | September 24, 2008Is John McCain a Coward?
John McCain has apparently suspended his presidential campaign, in an effort to either a) bring more focus to the impending collapse of the world's economy which he helped cause problem or b) get out of Friday's debate which could not possibly come at a worst time for him.
See: "McCain seeks to delay Friday's debate"
UPDATE:
Note the following comment from the cited report:
The move put Obama in a bind. Rejecting the idea would allow McCain alone to appear above politics, but agreeing to suspend campaigning and the debate could make Obama look like he's…
pharyngula | September 24, 2008Good ol' UK-based Nature has a special section dedicated to the US election. I'm not surprised — the whole world has a stake in this one, and I sure hope we don't disappoint them, for our sake and theirs. Both presidential candidates were asked their opinion on various issues of science policy, and the answers are publicly available, in two parts. Unsurprisingly, only Obama bothered to reply; in an attempt to be fair, Nature dug through McCain's old speeches to charitably cobble up the kind of answers he might have given if a) he weren't an incompetent old coot who can't get his act together…
gregladen | September 24, 2008A Poll regarding Palin
and
Comments on said poll by PBS
Hat tips to Ginny and Cortunix
hrynyshyn | September 24, 2008Ed Brayton deserves a big tip of the hat for bringing to our attention Sarah Palin's latest demonstration of her expertise. On what I'm not sure, but get a load of this response when asked in a town hall meeting how she would help keep any new domestic oil produced in the United States:
"Oil and coal? Of course, it's a fungible commodity and they don't flag, you know, the molecules, where it's going and where it's not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first," Palin said. "So, I believe that what Congress is…
jstemwedel | September 24, 2008From time to time on this blog, we discuss the obligation scientists assume by virtue of accepting public money to fund their research. These obligations may include sharing knowledge with the public (since public money helped make that knowledge). And they also include playing by the public's rules as enshrined in various federal regulations concerning scientific research.
If a scientist takes public money, she expects there will be some public oversight. That's just how it goes.
Of course, working from this mindset makes it much harder for me to fathom how someone (say a Secretary of the…
grrlscientist | September 24, 2008I am not sure about you, but I received this spam message yesterday and thought I'd share it with you. I am really broke and need the money desperately .. what is your opinion? Should I respond?
Subject:Help!
Hello ,
I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
I am working with Mr. Phil…