Politics
stcynic | June 26, 2006Until a short while ago, I had no idea that someone could possibly think that I'm part of some "leftist" conspiracy not to attack astrology. To say this post from Commissar at the Politburo Diktat came out of the blue is an understatement:
Does the Left have a segment of their base that believes a certain pseudo-science, a segment their leaders are reluctant to antagonize? Is astrology quietly acceptable within the "progressive" community? The Left takes great pleasure in bashing Republican Creationists and ID advocates (quite appropriately, and I join them in this, as my readers know)...
I…
stcynic | June 26, 2006Over at PT, a massive 400+ comment thread has degenerated into the kind of slimefest I have no tolerance for nor interest in. I wouldn't even have noticed this comment from Gary Hurd if someone hadn't alerted me to it. But since it's full of dishonest accusations against me, I think it deserves a response. Gary Hurd used to be a PT contributor until he went off the deep end last year and began firing blindly at anyone on the contributor's list who didn't line up 100% with him on every political issue. Apparently, his bitterness has not abated since he left, nor has his grasp of reality…
stcynic | June 26, 2006The Washington Post has declared that Jon Stewart and the Daily Show may be "poisoning democracy." Why? Because by exposing the lies and contradictions of our leaders, the show makes people more cynical about politics. Well, duh. Why on earth is that a bad thing? We don't suffer from a lack of cynicism in this country, for crying out loud, we suffer from a lack of it. The reasoning behind this criticism is hilarious.
Jody Baumgartner and Jonathan S. Morris of East Carolina University said previous research found that nearly half -- 48 percent -- of this age group watched "The Daily Show" and…
stcynic | June 26, 2006Chris Buttars may have some competition for the loopiest Utah politician if this guy makes it into office:
Republican congressional hopeful John Jacob believes the devil is impeding his efforts to unseat five-term Representative Chris Cannon.
He says there's another force that wants to keep him from going to Washington and the devil is what it is.
Jacob says that since he decided to run for Congress, Satan has disrupted his business deals, preventing him from putting as much money into the race as he had hoped.
Jacob said during a Wednesday immigration event that the devil was working against…
terrasig | June 26, 2006Last week's local independent rag had a number of articles on the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals and the revived religious war against our fellow citizens. Featured therein is a brief from Pam Spaulding, who bloggers will recognize from Pandagon and Pam's House Blend.
But what really caught my eye in the Indy was a new ad campaign from Faith In America:
Powerful, isn't it?
Faith In American is led by Executive Director, Rev. Jimmy Creech, a former United Methodist minister with biblical and divinity degrees from Duke University and the University of…
oracknows | June 25, 2006Lord Runolfr recently reminded me of a bit of wisdom, courtesy of the Doctor (fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker) from the episode entitled The Face of Evil. Here's the quote:
You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.
Apply this quote as you see fit. It certainly rings true.
It also reminds me of some other good Doctor Who quotes:
'Oil? An emergency? Ha! It's about time the people who run…
tsmith | June 23, 2006Rebecca over at Memoirs of a Skepchick makes an excellent argument against the new HPV vaccine:
Before the invention of the fire extinguisher in 1816, people used sensible fire safety precautions. They did not leave oily rags piled in buckets next to the ashtray. They did not set their farts on fire. And they always kept their curtains far away from heating devices.
After the invention of the fire extinguisher, all hell broke loose. It didn't take long for games such as "Tie a Lit Sparkler to the Cat" and "Flaming Monopoly" to explode -- literally and metaphorically -- in popularity all over…
clock | June 23, 2006 This was an early post of mine building upon George Lakoff analysis of the psychology underlying political ideology. It was first published on September 04, 2004 (mildly edited):
I keep going back to George Lakoff's "Moral Politics", as I did "here"
and "here", because I believe this book provides very important insights into the psychological sources of ideology, or worldview, from which all political stances logically follow. As I stated "before", it is not a perfect book. First, it is written in a pretty dry academic style. Long lists, in my opinion, should be taken out of the main body…
stcynic | June 22, 2006Did Adolf Hitler say it, or did Ann Coulter say it? How many can you get right? I got 9 out of 14 right.
stcynic | June 22, 2006Yep. And there are pictures. In Livonia, Michigan he signed his autograph on a bunch of American flags at a political rally, here's the picture:
That was from 2003. It seems he did the same thing in Austria recently. What does the US Code say about this sort of thing?
TITLE 4 > CHAPTER 1 > § 8
§ 8. Respect for flag
(g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
He defaced the American flag on foreign soil! It's a good thing the Senate hasn't voted on that…
stcynic | June 22, 2006Is this a politician who could actually be taken seriously? Even if he doesn't mean it, and I'm sure he doesn't, he's saying something that really needs to be said about our modern democracy, which has devolved into rule-by-catchphrase. From Sen. Chuck Hagel on the floor of the Senate:
The war in Iraq is the defining issue on which this Congress and the administration will be judged. The American people want to see serious debate about serious issues from serious leaders. They deserve more than a political debate. This debate should transcend cynical attempts to turn public frustration with…
evolvingthoughts | June 21, 2006The Interacademy Panel on International Issues has issued a statement on evolution:
IAP STATEMENT ON THE TEACHING OF EVOLUTION
We, the undersigned Academies of Sciences, have learned that in various parts of the world, within science courses taught in certain public systems of education, scientific evidence, data, and testable theories about the origins and evolution of life on Earth are being concealed, denied, or confused with theories not testable by science. We urge decision makers, teachers, and parents to educate all children about the methods and discoveries of science and to foster…
oracknows | June 21, 2006Via Evolving Thoughts, this article about Ann Coulter's misrepresentation of the Dover case is just too good for me not to link to also. Best excerpt:
One part of her latest book that's getting little notice is the part that deals with Dover and what is purported to be the "debate" over evolution.
She begins her screed by saying that liberals have contempt for science.
What?
She offers as proof that liberals support stem-cell research.
Yes, I know, I don't get it either.
Lots of conservatives also support stem-cell research. Nancy Reagan, for one. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for another. Gov.…
grrlscientist | June 21, 2006An informed public and open debate is vital to a healthy democracy, but they depend upon free access to the facts. A free and fair media is indispensable to democracy because they are the only institution that can regularly question the president and other public officials. However, not everyone thinks that the American media has been doing their job recently. One of those people is Helen Thomas.
Thomas is a journalist who has covered Washington news for more than 60 years. In her new book, Watchdogs of Democracy? The waning Washington press corps and how it has failed the public (NYC:…
clock | June 21, 2006Carnival of the Liberals is up on Varkam's portion of the group-blog Neural Gourmet. This is a competitive carnival where the host picks the Ten Best Posts of the week, out of several dozens entries. I am very happy to see that Top Ten this week include four posts from science blogs, and of those, two are from scienceblogs.com.
hrynyshyn | June 21, 2006Move over Fritjof Capra. The author of The Tao of Physics captured the imaginations of naive readers a couple of decades back by exploring the similarities between quantum theory and Eastern philosophies. But as the New York Times' Dennis Overbye reported Tuesday, Chinese scientists are more interested in the words of Stephen Hawking than Lao-tzu.
Which is a good thing. For the Chinese. Maybe not so much for those of us in the West.
Just the other day I was listening to our own Chris Mooney taken on anti-intellectual Tom Bethell on NPR's Science Friday. Central to Bethell's case that liberals…
clock | June 20, 2006For a particularly juicy manner of dealing with a global warming denier (and general wackjob) Dennis Prager, read Amanda's delicious rant: Gasbag expands as global temperatures rise.
goodmath | June 20, 2006I know this is outside my usual subject area, but I just saw a spectacularly stupid quote from moronic conservative, and I just had to mock it.
From AllThingsConservative, an explanation of why we should thank god that Ronald Reagan was president:
If not for Ronald Reagan, and his vision and leadership, we would now be at the mercy of that lunatic in North Korea. Instead, we have a workable missile defense against the threat. Not only are we still working on a space-based system, but the technology now being deployed was developed due to the efforts started by Reagan.
We should definitely…
jrosenhouse | June 20, 2006As a counterpoint to yesterday's post about Ann Coulter's place within modern conservatism, check out this post from the blog Conservatives Against Intelligent Design. (Hat tip to Gene Expression for the link.
It's nice to see that at least some conservatives are willing to take on the ignoramuses within their midst. I stand by everything I wrote yesterday, however. I never claimed there were no pro-science conservatives, only that such people represent a small, fringe element within American conservatism generally.
hrynyshyn | June 20, 2006The American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973. The Pentagon is still mulling it over, according to a report from AP.
WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position. The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jeremy M. Martin said the policy…