Politics
gregladen | March 23, 2008Or at least, as Mark Twain said, "... it rhymes."
When George Bush invaded Iraq, I was immediately reminded of Julian the Apostate. I've read about Julian the Apostate, and I can tell you, George Bush is not Julian the Apostate. But, Julian died during his ill fated campaign in the region, so that is why I was reminded.
(If you want read a cool book have a look at Julian: A Novel, by Gore Vidal.)
Anyway, Julian was not the only ancient figure to invade Iraq with dire consequences, as Manchester Historian Gareth Sampson describes. According to Samson,
...there are strong parallels between…
grrlscientist | March 23, 2008tags: Expelled!, Richard Dawkins, PZ Myers, religious wingnuts, christian fundamentalists, cultism, streaming video
This streaming video reveals the unadulterated stupidity of the religious wingnuts; their poor public relations skills, their artlessness, their shocking lack of creative abilities, along with their unabashed duplicity. Oh, by the way, Happy Easter! [9:30].
pontiff | March 22, 2008I always thought that I was special because I have, in my short life, been kicked into a night club. But now, comes word of an even more spectacular event: scienceblogs' own PZ Myers was expelled from seeing the creationist propoganda film "Expelled!" Adding to the irony, noted biologist/athiest Richard Dawkins, who is famous enough to appear as a character on "Southpark" and who was PZ's guest, was allowed to view the movie! Holy craptacular convergence of ironies, batman!
For those who haven't been following the story, "Expelled!" is a creationist propoganda film narrated by Ben Stein.…
gregladen | March 21, 2008And the winner for best music video: "Chocolate Rain." Tay Zonday morphed from an unknown musician to an Internet superstar who got booked on national TV shows after his song "Chocolate Rain" - an amateur clip of his baritone crooning - went viral last year. Now he's among the 12 winners of the second annual YouTube Video Awards, recognizing the top user-created videos of 2007.
[source]
gregladen | March 21, 2008The Third Congressional District from Minnesota, in which I live, has been a Republican seat since the districts around the Twin Cities were Jerrymandered some time ago. The Republican incumbent in this district is retiring this year, and there is a reasonable chance of flipping the district to a Democrat. Ashwin Madia is moving quickly towards attaining the DFL (That's Minnesotan for 'Democratic') endorsement. (I caucuses for him in the Senate Distract convention a couple of weeks ago). He's an excellent candidate, and will make an excellent member of congress. If you are a voter in the…
razib | March 20, 2008Normally I don't blog politics since I don't know shit really. I generally subscribe to 2-3 political feeds which I regularly rotate to keep me "hooked in." Today I saw something so so shockingly stupid, or, brazenly mendacious, that I had to take note. Red Massachusetts?:
...And a Scots-Irish war veteran as the Republican nominee complicates predictions about whom Kennedy Country will support come November.
Most of the commentary seems fine, if disputable; I might not agree, but it's political pundrity, about as rooted in reality as sports predictions. James Kirchick graduated from Yale…
gregladen | March 20, 2008According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change.
"The time for change is now," said the black guy, yelling at everyone within earshot for 20 straight minutes, practically begging America for change. "The need for change is stronger and more urgent than ever before. And only you--the people standing here today, and indeed all the people of this great nation--only you can deliver this change."
Read the rest of this compelling story here.
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: bring your daughter to war day, humor, satire, streaming video
Girls between the ages of 8 and 14 spent the day helping their parents fight insurgents and defuse mines in Iraq [1:22].
gregladen | March 19, 2008A man got into the Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management office in downtown St. Paul last week and defecated in several rooms, police said Monday.
The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Friday in a basement office area of 444 Cedar St., according to a police report. The man went in through an emergency exit door that hadn't been secured properly, said Tom Walsh, St. Paul police spokesman.
A contractor working for building management walked out and didn't properly secure the door behind him, said Susan Lasley, Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokeswoman.
[source]
gregladen | March 19, 2008The fight continues in Texas; Homophobia is a punishable offense, yet legislators march on in opposition to the already underway 21st century; Some guy named Stephen on homeschooling.
Mary Helen Berlanga is the senior member of the Texas Board of Education. She is warning Texas citizens of impending fights on the board regarding a number of issues, including evolution.
She asked her constituents to travel to Austin next week to speak out against proposed amendments outside consultants are pushing for that she says exclude Hispanics and other minorities from classroom instruction.…
drorzel | March 19, 2008Eric Lund asks:
Do you have any comments on the Eliot Spitzer scandal/resignation?
Nothing original, which is why I haven't commented. I had the same "what he said" reaction as most people who linked to August J. Pollak, but I didn't think that was worth a post.
I've never met Spitzer myself, though I did stand sort of near him at a Springsteen concert. Kate interviewed with him when he was Attorney General, and met with him once or twice more, and said he seemed smart, energetic, and likeable. She says that he did great things for the AG's office, which had been left in bad shape, so he…
terrasig | March 19, 2008Two political posts in two days. Apologies to those who come here for the science but these are the issues getting my attention and energy this week.
Billy Bragg is a special guy in my life and this song from 2002 was particularly prescient.
In memory of those lost in the 11 September attacks, the Spanish 11 March bombings, the thousands of allied forces and Iraqi people dead and injured, and all around the world whose needs have gone unmet in exchange for financing an unguided and unnecessary war. . .
pharyngula | March 18, 2008That John Horgan fellow — he's always going on and on about the end of something or other. This time, it's about the end of war. There's a little bit of "duh" about it — modern science can end war, all it has to do is end scarcity, or as it says, "Given adequate food, fuel, and gender equality, mass conflict just might disappear" — but also a good question. Are people intrinsically warlike by nature, or will they favor peace if given the opportunity?
I'm inclined to agree that people would rather avoid war, and that ending resource scarcity (which I'm not convinced that science can do) would…
gregladen | March 17, 2008Sometimes the items falling into my in-box are totally random and unconnected. Sometimes they fit together very nicely. Then, there are the times they fit together in a random and unconnected sort of way.
I moved to Boston, from Upstate New York, when the Governor was a King. I only vaguely remember who the mayor was, but there was another King running for that office ... Mel King, an African American activist and against him, Ray Flynn, a home boy Irish politician. Sorry about the Ethnic Labels, but this is, after all Saint Patrick's day, and by the time I'm done with this post you'll see…
gregladen | March 17, 2008Via Pharyngula, we learn of a post on Query: Sally Kern Scrubs Gay Son?
Sally Kern is the Okie who was caught on tape making a number of outrageous statements about homosexuality. For instance, she claims that any society that totally embraces homosexuality is doomed.
The Oklahoma lawmaker's homophobic remarks have been the talk of the town recently, especially her assertion that gay folk are infiltrating schools to indoctrinate children. And, sensing a critical national spotlight, Kern made a very suspicious change to her official government homepage.
If you compare a March 4th cache and…