Politics
jlynch | July 18, 2006H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, allows scientific use of embryos which were "created for the purposes of in vitro fertilization ... and in every single case are slated for medical waste." This doesn't prevent Sam Brownback (R-KS) from distorting this on the senate floor and playing the "will someone please think of the children" card.
This is a chart she [Hannah, a seven year old child who was adopted as a frozen embryo] did last year when she was in Washington, talking, when the House was considering legislation, the same legislation, she did this chart, this letter that…
jlynch | July 18, 2006So let me see if I've gotten this straight. He gropes the German Chancellor, addresses the British Prime Minister as "Yo, Blair", and wants Hizbollah to "stop doing this shit" (news). Brings whole new meaning to "special relationship". That's some representative we have up there on the world stage.
oracknows | July 18, 2006Fellow traveler in the fight against Holocaust denial Andrew Mathis asks whether Israel has adequate justification for its recent attacks in Lebanon and Gaza based on "just war theory." Basically, he finds that Israel meets many of the criteria, but fails in proportionality of response and using force as a last resort. However, he finds that Hezbollah and Hamas fail to meet these criteria by an even greater degree. I'm not sure I agree with all of it (for instance, I wouldn't be nearly so hard on the Lebanese government, given that it really doesn't have the power to rein in Hezbollah or…
pharyngula | July 18, 2006A reader sent me copy of a letter that will be published in Science this week, criticizing the dishonest tactics of the anti-scientific adult stem cell "advocates" (in quotes because they aren't really science advocates of any kind—they're only using it as an issue to limit stem cell research.) Anyway, it raises the interesting question of who you're going to believe: scientists with expertise in the issues under discussion, or a flunky for Sam Brownback and shill for the religious right?
Adult Stem Cell Treatments for Diseases?
Shane Smith, William Neaves, Steven Teitelbaum
Opponents of…
pharyngula | July 18, 2006From the insightful Digby comes this insightly insight:
Why do the vast majority secularists vote for the Democrats? Could it possibly be for the same reason that African Americans do? Could it be that the Republican Party is so implicitly or explicitly religiously intolerant that they have no place in it?
They don't even need to be intolerant, though…just being implicitly and explicitly religious, period, full stop, is sufficiently off-putting. The intolerance is the creamy rich arsenic-laced frosting layered thickly on top of the putrefying fruitcake of superstitious dogma—excuse me if I'd…
drorzel | July 18, 2006This week has been dubbed "International Blog Against Racism Week" by some folks over on LiveJournal, with the goal being to have lots of people, well, blog about issues related to race. It's not likely to save the world, but it's a noble enough cause, and deserves a mention. There's some good stuff over there-- a discussion of race in casting, and a post on suppressing discussion, complete with its own live-action demo.
As one of the whitest white guys you're ever likely to meet, I'm sort of hesitant to contribute anything to this (see also Sherwood Smith's demurral). I mean, I completely…
clock | July 17, 2006Mark Lindeman is a guy who did the statistical analysis of the exit polls and final numbers of the 2004 election and conluded that there was NO fraud, or at least not enough to make a difference. He is, thus, a liberal unloved by some other liberals. He is thus a liberal unhappy that his data show what they show - he would have been much happier if Kerry won. But data are data....
Anyway, TNG of Neural Gourmet blog did an exclusive interview with Dr.Lindeman. The first part is now up, the second one will come up tomorrow and the third part on Wednesday.
So, go and read the first part…
pharyngula | July 17, 2006I'm taking it easy here in the fabulous Van Dusen mansion, a bed and breakfast where I'm staying tonight, and I thought I'd browse through the stem cell legislation that's being considered in the senate right now. It's strange: one substantive bill has come up from the House, and all of a sudden two more bills have been proposed on the floor of the Senate.
Here's the interesting one. H.R.810: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, proposed by Congressman Mike Castle, a Delaware Republican who isn't too thrilled with Bush's promise to veto his bill, actually does something substantial. It…
jlynch | July 17, 2006Eric Margolis in the Toronto Sun on the current situtation in the Middle East:
All parties involved are to blame for this frightful mess: The Palestinians and Hezbollah for provoking Israel, and Israel for its continuing brutal repression of Palestinians and assassinating their leaders. But most at blame is the Bush administration whose catastrophically misguided Mideast policies have fed this crisis.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies at the heart of Mideast troubles, and is the primary generator for anti-Western violence known as terrorism. It is a weary truism that no nation can bring…
oracknows | July 17, 2006Many of the bloggers here at ScienceBlogs lament about the woeful state of science knowledge among the U.S. public. This ignorance about the basics of science and the scientific method has been blamed on many things, whether it be the poor quality of science education in the public schools, an all-too-prevalent view of science as not being "sexy" or "interesting," and the rise of a distinct antiscience bias, particularly in the present administration. Many of us have also lamented at one time or another about how this ignorance allows pseudoscientific belief systems like "intelligent design"…
razib | July 16, 2006I know many of you are dying to hear my opinion on current events, well, your wish is granted. I post over at Nation Building about the current conflict in the Middle East (sort of). I am only tangentially interested in this topic because I'm not ignorant and I am of the opinion that most Americans are, otherwise sentences like this wouldn't be published in a major opinion magazine:
Iran's diverse population should be fertile ground for a covert operation. Iran is only 51 percent Persian. Azerbaijanis and Kurds comprise nearly 35 percent of the population. Seventy percent are under 30, and…
clock | July 15, 2006Interview with John Edwards on Southern Studies.
Instapundit thinks that Edwards on the top of the ticket could have won in 2004.
Ed agrees and points to an interesting post by Instalawyer.
As usual, frightened Republicans in the comments trot out the hair and some errors or fact....
jlynch | July 15, 2006"We found out the hard way that Ann Coulter is not a major draw for donors." (source)
Coulter charges $20,000+ for speaking appearances (see here).
Amount raised at a Republican fundraiser featuring Coulter on March 28th? $0
And that was before her subtle comments on the 9/11 widows.
Hat tip to Jim Lippard.
stcynic | July 15, 2006As a follow up on Specter's new bill (see full text here), I suggest this post by Orin Kerr and this post by Jack Balkin. Both point out that not only does the bill not tighten the oversight on the administration's domestic spying efforts, it actually loosens it. Balkin calls it a sham and that's exactly what it is. From Balkin:
At first glance, Specter's bill looks like a moderate and wise compromise that expands the President's authority to engage in electronic surveillance under a variety of Congressional and judicial oversight procedures. But read more closely, it actually turns out to be…
stcynic | July 15, 2006You all remember Katherine Harris, right? She was the state election official in Florida during the 2000 recount, the one that looked and acted like a Stepford wife with a short in the wiring. Well now she's running for the Senate from Florida and running into major problems. Her third campaign manager has now quit, complaining of her bizarre and abusive behavior. She's in hot water for taking illegal campaign contributions from the same defense contractor who was convicted of bribing Duke Cunningham as well. And now this latest defection:
Katherine Harris' Senate campaign staff is leaving…
jlynch | July 14, 2006All hell appears to be breaking out between Israel & Lebanon and Bush refuses to pressure Israel. Things are heated between India & Pakistan. North Korea and Iran are problematic. And these jackasses are happy.
Is it time to get excited? I can't help the way I feel. For the first time in my Christian walk, I have no doubts that the day of the Lords appearing is upon us. I have never felt this way before, I have a joy that bubbles up every-time I think of him, for I know this is truly the time I have waited for so long. Am I alone in feeling guilty about the human suffering like my joy…
clock | July 14, 2006At Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh:
SUNDAY, JULY 16, 3:00 p.m. George Lakoff's book, DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT! KNOW YOUR VALUES AND FRAME THE DEBATE: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR PROGRESSIVES, has been a bestseller nationally and here at QRB. Local political activist Diana Koenning will lead a discussion of the book which is about the art of framing current hot-topic issues in a way that leads to meaningful conversation. There will also be a practice session to build skills in creating dialogue across the political spectrum.
Does anyone know who Diana Koenning is? Do you think I should go?
tsmith | July 14, 2006I was new to Iowa last summer, and not being much of a bicycle person, had never heard of RAGBRAI, the [Des Moines] Register's Annual Great Bicycle Race Ride Across Iowa. (Don't ask me why they didn't pick a catchier acronym). It's apparently a rather well-known ride, crossing Iowa from west to east on different routes each year. This year, it's heading through my neck of the woods, and bringing with it a big name and a public health message:
Not only will Lance Armstrong be among thousands of other bikers pedaling across Iowa, the seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor…
clock | July 14, 2006This I first posted on June 24, 2004 on www.jregrassroots.org, then republished on August 23, 2004 on Science And Politics. What do you think? Was I too rosy-eyed? Prophetic?
In the beginning there were grunts, tom-tom drums, smoke signals, and the guy on the horse riding from village to village reading the latest King's Edict. That is Phase I in the evolution of media.
Phase II was ushered in by Gutenberg. Remember the beginning of Protestantism? Luther nailing copies of his pamhlet on the doors? That was also the beginning of the first great Universities, such as those in Genoa, Padua…
pharyngula | July 14, 2006Fewer open threads and more of this would make it clear why Atrios is popular.
I started this blog and adopted this style in part because I thought it was important to introduce a more combative and caustic discourse on our side. I'd be quite happy and comfortable in a world where politics more closely resembled an academic seminar - that is where I come from, after all - but we don't live in that world and it's a tragic mistake to pretend we do.
It's a tragic mistake to think most creationists will be won over by kind and supportive conversation over a cup of coffee, too, or by any kind of…