Politics
clock | June 24, 2007By Kidoakland: Abel Guillen: the Rise of the Millennials:
In my recent and direct experience, millennials are engaged, groundedly idealistic and willing to make careers that will change their nation and world over the long haul. I see this every day. Even among the youngest of this consort, the strains of progressive politics run deep and wide. That counts for something. These young Americans may have grown up with Madison Avenue and Hollywood cliches of political activism, but their own actions are no less idealistic even if they go on under the cover of less flamboyant and more conventional…
jrosenhouse | June 23, 2007You might think that our corrupt and incompetant Attorney General would find it difficult to find a sympathetic audience these days. But you'd be wrong:
Gonzales is scheduled to deliver a 45-minute speech at the Seattle Westin Hotel's Grand Ballroom on the Justice Department's efforts to protect intellectual property and combat cybercrime. Justice Department spokesman Evan Peterson declined to confirm details of Gonzales' schedule, but he is also expected to visit the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle.
The speech, free and open to the public, is being sponsored by the Discovery Institute, a…
voltagegate | June 22, 2007But not in the way you might think.
Bay Area CEOs think global warming is a threat to local business, according to a survey from the Bay Area Council.
The survey, released Thursday, said 77 percent of Bay Area chief executives who responded think that environmental warming is a serious threat to the local economy and to the region's quality of life. Just 6 percent of CEOs in the study said it wasn't at all a serious problem.
The council polled 510 Bay Area CEOs and top executives for the study. Those who responded overwhelmingly supported legislation to require cuts in pollution that could…
pharyngula | June 22, 2007Mark Morford is wonderfully excited about the prospects for biological research, and I don't blame him. Consider what the world was like in 1900 and how physics and engineering changed it by 2000; from horse-and-buggy and steam locomotive to interstates and jet planes, from telegraph to world-wide communication networks. We're going to see a revolution of that magnitude in the coming century, too, and you can expect biology and medicine to be at the forefront. Well, maybe. As Morford writes, the alternative is to
…hold tight to the leaky life raft of inflexible ideology (hello, organized…
clock | June 21, 2007First, a video of Jonathan Haidt - Morality: 2012 (Hat-tip to Kevin):
The social and cultural psychologist Jonathan Haidt talks with Henry Finder about the five foundations of morality, and why liberals often fail to get their message across. From "2012: Stories from the Near Future," the 2007 New Yorker Conference.
Second, a post by Drew Westen - Winning Hearts and Minds: Why Rational Appeals Are Irrational If Your Goal is Winning Elections:
The difference between the Clinton ad and the Kerry ad -- like the difference between the Clinton campaign and virtually every other Democratic…
clock | June 21, 2007Thanks to Jeff over on Shakesville (or should it be IN Shakesville?):
Election Central reports that Drudge (who the hell and why still reads that sleazeball of all people!?) tried to slander Edwards by insinuating that his daughter Emma-Claire supports Hillary:
Her comment came in response to a Drudge item quoting a local newspaper account that suggested that the Edwards' nine-year-old child supported Hillary, not her father.
Election Central has learned that Elizabeth put a comment in the comments section of another Web site's post debunking the Drudge item.
Elizabeth claimed the…
sb admin | June 21, 2007In a recent post, I expressed frustration with the observation that those who sometimes question the tactics and language of some fighting for gender-equality then get lumped in with "everybody else who is clueless and oppressive," even if we care deeply about the issue. One of my complaints was irritation with the word "privilege," which generated a lot of hostility and confusion which, unfortunately, ended up obscuring my core point.
I would like to thank Annie (commenter in the previous thread, who continued the conversation with me in e-mail) for her calm and reasoned and non-attacking e…
drorzel | June 21, 2007President Bush vetoed a bill that would have allowed more funding for stem cell research, saying that it would force taxpayers to support the destruction of life:
"Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical," Mr. Bush said in a brief ceremony in the East Room of the White House. He called the United States "a nation founded on the principle that all human life is sacred."
In totally unrelated news, we continue to rain fiery death upon Middle Easterners who have displeased us.
oracknows | June 21, 2007Has it really been two years?
Amazingly, it has indeed. On June 16, 2005, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. deposited the biggest, steamingest, drippiest (not to mention stinkiest) turd I had as yet seen in my then young blogging career, specifically an article published simultaneously by both Salon.com and Rolling Stone entitled Deadly Immunity. Along with David Kirby's Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Mystery, which had been published a couple of months earlier, RFK, Jr. arguably did more than almost anyone else besides the aforementioned David Kirby to…
grrlscientist | June 21, 2007tags: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, humor, streaming video
No matter what you haters say, I think that Hillary does have a sense of humor. Not bad, considering that she's the front-runner in that most deadly-serious of American hobbies; running for president of the United States [1:35]
evolvingthoughts | June 20, 2007
A very thoughtful and interesting, dare I say almost philosophical, discussion of the Manichaean nature of the Bush Administration is in the present Salon here. A quote:
The power to order people detained and imprisoned based solely on accusation is one of the most extraordinary and tyrannical powers any political leader can hold. One of the core rights established against the British king by the Magna Carta in the thirteenth century was that the king could not order subjects imprisoned except upon a finding of guilt arrived at in accordance with legal process. The Military Commissions Act…
pharyngula | June 20, 2007Two videos with surprising similarities: Richard Dawkins and Digby. Both discuss being vilified by conservative forces for being "strident", and both explain that it's all about passion for a cause—Digby for progressive politics, Dawkins for godlessness.
evolvingthoughts | June 19, 2007
What happens when you put journalists in contact with scientists? To hear some people tell it, it results in an antimatter-matter explosion that destroys careers and causing black holes of ignorance in the general population, particularly when the density is already great, as in political circles.
Tara, from the scientists' perspective, gave a list of rules for science journalists. Her commentators broadly agreed, ranging from gentle to vociferous. Chris Mooney leapt to the defence of what is, after all, his profession (and one he's damned good at if his book is anything to judge by), and…
grrlscientist | June 19, 2007tags: Donald Rumsfeld, politics, humor, satire, streaming video
In an extended view, Craig shows us that you never know what those zany Defense Secretaries might do next. [2:10]
oracknows | June 18, 2007Thanks, archy and PZ.
You just ruined my day.
Really. If you thought that Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church was bad, you really ain't seen nothin' yet until you've checked out Paul Hill Days. The Phelpses may be evil in the way that they torment people in their moment of grief with their "God hates fags" hatred, but these people are violent killers in the name of God.
No matter what side of the abortion debate that you happen to come down on, surely you must find this paeon to the murderer Paul Hill as vile as I do. Here's just a taste:
On July 29th, 1994, Paul Hill boldly defended…
pharyngula | June 17, 2007Hank Fox has brought a significant problem to my attention, one that I've addressed before: one of the consequences of growing American cowardice and these trumped-up Wars on Terror and Drugs (let's call them what they are: a War on Civil Liberties) is that science and science education are collateral damage. Memepunks has an excellent post on this subject:
In an attempt to curb the production of crystal meth, more than 30 states have now outlawed or require registration for common lab equipment. In Texas, you need to register the purchase of Erlenmeyer flasks or three-necked beakers. The…
j7uy5 | June 16, 2007How do you think it feels?
href="http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20070614_lame_ducks_unite/">
grrlscientist | June 15, 2007Below the fold is a list of sentiments about George Bush that have been found on t-shirts and bumper stickers throughout the United States. My favorite is #19, although I do have a certain fondness for #5 and #22. Which one do you like best?
(On an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.
1/20/09: End of an Error
That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway
Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First
If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran
Bush, Like a Rock. Only Dumber.
You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life At The Same Time
If You Can Read This, You're Not…
j7uy5 | June 15, 2007This
would be a good time to raise the gas tax. Seriously.
In fact, it should be raised using a ratcheting mechanism.
Whenever the nationwide price of gas goes up, that should
become the new price. If the wholesale price goes down, the
difference would be replaced by a tax increase. That way the
price at the pump would never go down.
Oh, and oil companies should never get subsidies. Never.
If more exploration is needed and they think they can't
afford it, they can ask for a federal loan. But repayment
would be expected. Chief corporate officers would be
personally liable for…