Politics
drorzel | July 8, 2011The topic sucking up all blogospheric oxygen at the moment is the great elevator incident. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find lots of good summaries and explanations, including from Phil Plait and Josh Rosenau. The core of the story is that Rebecca Watson was propositioned in an elevator by a skeevy guy at a convention, and said "Guys, don't do this." Leading Nü Atheist Richard Dawkins scoffed at this because "nothing happened," and basically said Watson was overreacting, and has dug in his heels in the face of numerous people telling him he's wrong.
I'm not going to…
jtoney | July 7, 2011I've written about Going Gaga, but this is a curious turn.... Republican Presidential Candidate Tim Pawlenty Goes Gaga. Is he becoming a "little monster"?
Can anyone explain a Republican candidate for President of the United States providing ad lib supportive commentary on a pop superstar, known for her support of the gay community {e.g., marriage equality}, amidst the intense negotiations about our nation's debt ceiling? I think I know the answer.
His "all time" favorite performer is Bruce Springsteen, but he asks his interviewers what their favoriate Lady Gaga song is, then launches…
jtoney | July 7, 2011How educated is your state legislator? The answer varies considerably from state to state. While many lawmakers hold a college degree, support of public higher education, it seems, has always been a challenge. Consider this scenario:
Sufficient funds have been raised to support initial construction of the academic buildings and the first faculty member has been hired. But the state legislature is reluctant to provide funding to allow completion of the building, causing considerable delays of opening for its first academic year. Ripple effects ensue. The first freshmen class cannot be…
drorzel | July 7, 2011It is my fervent hope that at some point in the future, we will once again live in a society where all discussions of politics are not indescribably depressing.
Really, that pretty much sums up my feelings about everything in the news right now, on-line and off. There are a bunch of things going on that I sorta-kinda feel I maybe ought to write something about, but I think I'd rather slam my fingers in my desk drawer repeatedly than type any of those posts.
People with happy news are encouraged to post it in the comments.
catdynamics | July 7, 2011Name a concrete, new international facility class science project that the US is going to be leading in near future.
Seriously: and you can either keep it to Astronomy, or any natural science.
Used to be that you could rattle off several upcoming major science projects which were US initiatives, international in scope and clearly great things to do.
Heck, you could do that just in astronomy.
There are still some US projects, mostly though put in place a long time ago and just now peaking.
There are still major international scientific projects, but mostly without US leadership. Either…
gregladen | July 7, 2011Behaviors are not caused by genes. There is not a gene that causes you to be good, or to be bad, or to be smart, or good at accounting, or to like bananas. There are, however, drives. "Drives" is a nicely vague term that we can all understand the meaning of. Thirst and hunger are drives we can all relate to. In fact, these drives are so basic, consistent and powerful that almost everyone has them, we share almost exact experiences in relation to them, and they can drive (as drives are wont to do) us to do extreme things when they are not met for long periods of time. While eating…
oracknows | July 7, 2011I just saw something I don't see every day. Or every week. Or every month. Or even every year.
I frequently complain about supplements on this blog. Well, not supplements per se but rather the double standard we have in this country when it comes to supplements. Basically, supplements are about as close to unregulated as you can imagine, thanks to a law known as the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, or the DSHEA. Indeed, just last week, I wrote a post about a legislator whom I like to refer to as the lapdog of the supplement industry, namely Republican Senator Orrin Hatch…
catdynamics | July 6, 2011As everybody knows, there is one thing you must never do before launch, and that is name it.
Total jinx.
Not of course that we are superstitious, that'd be silly.
Some of us just cringed when the Next Generation Space Telescope was given a proper name by an over keen administrator while still in pre-pre phase A.
Still, we muddle along, and so it goes.
Then came the delays, and cost overruns, and reviews and reports.
Not all of it was NASA's fault - I have clear memories of Congress vacillating for a year or two on authorizing use of a foreign heavy launcher, even though it was clear the…
catdynamics | July 6, 2011Well, it was a good four centuries or so, but after a good run, one of the older watches on the Rhine is coming to an end.
Word came in mid-June that the Dutch government cuts were going to lead to some "consolidation" in astronomy, and that Utrecht would be cut.
We were asked not to kick up a fuzz about it, for local political reasons, but soon enough the story spread:
One Small Step broke the story,
with the e-Astronomer also chiming in.
Official response of the Astronomical Institute is here.
So, Dutch academia is facing "austerity" - 20% cuts in particular for Utrecht University, and,…
pharyngula | July 5, 2011We already know how unethical and sleazy Murdoch-owned media are — and now, if you're in the UK, you should be aware that he's making a grab to take control of an even larger slice of the media pie.
Murdoch already controls more of our media than is legal in many countries - and is notorious for using his power to skew our politics. The official consultation ends this Friday -- let's tell the government we don't want his media empire to control our largest commercial broadcaster. Send a message now -- using your own words to make it stand out -- calling on Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron to…
oracknows | July 4, 2011I saw this story on Friday and almost couldn't wait the weekend to blog about it. However, since the conference that was brought to my attention isn't until November, I ultimately decided that it would keep. At least until now.
This story is about Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health. Unlike some bloggers, personally, as a physician and scientist I don't much care about what religion Dr. Collins ascribes to. Unlike some writers such as Sam Harris, most definitely do not consider his strong Christian faith a disqualification for holding the position that he now…
pharyngula | July 4, 2011Sadly, an Indian health minister has gone on record calling homosexuality a "disease".
For the Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, men having sex with men (MSMs) is not only "unnatural" but also a "disease."
According to Azad, "this disease has come to India from foreign shores", and Indian society needs to be prepared to face it. Unfortunately, he said, the number of "such people" is increasing by the day.
All gay people are alien immigrants from Gaydonia, I guess, and no natives of the subcontinent could possibly be gay. Unless maybe they're from Pakistan.
I think we could make a…
jtoney | July 2, 2011
Photo Source, D W S' Flickr Photostream.
Dr. Cynthia Boaz, an assistant professor of political science at Sonoma State University, published a thoughtful article at Truthout that deconstructs an example of a news media outlet that is not "fair and balanced." I would like to share her analysis as "14 Ways to Skin a FOX {News}", supplemented with my own commentary. Note that this is in no way unique to FOX News and is presented to readers as a case study for your consideration.
As one of my mentors once told me:
Sometimes when you make an omelet you've gotta break a few eggs.
Below are…
jtoney | July 2, 2011My last post "How Tea Party Members Don't Always March to the Same Beat" generated some strong opinions from readers. My goal was to add nuance to the political discourse, reminding us that voters labeled by one particular group are not a monolith, marching in lock step - despite the caricatures portrayed in most news media.
One reader posted the following comment exemplifying this point:
Actually I totally believe the author when he says he has voted straight party line, and yet has those "progressive" opinions.
At the end of the day, voters assess the totality of the candidate and ask…
jtoney | July 1, 2011
This is an anonymous guest post for the 4th of July and is not an endorsement of a political party. It is presented for the purposes of a civil discussion about the complexities of American politics.
Amidst the media storm about the Tea Party, often labeled as uneducated extremists letting off steam, I would like to offer a different perspective. The Tea Party is portrayed by most news media as a caricature of disgruntled right-wing fundamentalists. Yes, many of us are disgruntled by Washington politicians {isn't most of America?} and our Party initially formed with the moniker "Tax…
jtoney | June 30, 2011
American taxpayers are supporting more and more private faith-based schools, including anti-science creationist curricula, whether you like it or not.
Consider this, from an article draft that I am currently writing with Sir Harold Kroto:
From 1980 to 2001, the opening of private schools outpaced public schools by nearly two to one (15,131 vs. 8,130). During the same period, the number of private schools increased by 73% whereas the number of public schools only increased by 9%. Current data show that about two out of five schools are private, compared to one out of four in 1980. Three…
aardvarchaeology | June 29, 2011Here's a piece of radical Libertarian politics for you. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Svenskt Näringsliv, is a respectable mainstream employers' organisation. Their people have identified a problem with the Swedish university system, viz, that unemployed people are entering undergraduate programs that do not actually make them employable. The Confederation points out the Humanities specifically. And they suggest a solution: students in these programs should not receive the same amount of study loans as other students.
I agree that the problem exists, but not with the suggested…
jtoney | June 29, 2011Chris Wallace Asking Michele Bachmann if she is a flake. Fox News Sunday.
"I've worked in serious scholarship..." Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Really?
I am no fan of personal attacks on politicians. In the case of Rep. Michele Bachmann, her own words are, sadly, fulfilling the same function. During the recent Fox news interview with Chris Wallace, for which Mr. Wallace apologized for using the term "flake," Rep. Bachmann defended herself by focusing on her age, years of her marriage, and involvement in "serious scholarship" among other items.
The latter statement got my interest. Unfortunately…
pharyngula | June 29, 2011Bernie Sanders gave a wonderful speech to the senate. Here's the conclusion:
So, today, I am asking the American people that, if you believe deficit reduction should be about shared sacrifice; if you believe the wealthiest people in our country and the largest corporations should be asked to pay their fair share as part of deficit reduction; if you believe that, at a time when military spending has almost tripled since 1997, that we begin to take a hard look at our defense budget; and if you believe the middle-class and working families have already sacrificed enough, I urge you to make sure…
pharyngula | June 27, 2011It's been a rough weekend. It was a rough night, with little sleep. This morning I had the double whammy of a doctor's appointment and a dentist's appointment. So I'm feeling a little cranky, and my teeth are all coated with this gummy gritty cherry-flavored fluoride goop. You don't want to cross me today.
And then some idiot going by the name 'eident9' charges into a year-old thread and first demands an audience with me, and then demands an apology. WTF? This is a blog. Just post your comment and be done with it. And what bug has crawled up his butt suddenly? He says, "Recent matters have…