Politics
pharyngula | March 12, 2011Lately, I've completely given up on giving any credit to the Rethuglican party at all — where once I could have grudgingly admitted that perhaps some conservative policies were sensible, the current party is no longer conservative, but simply insane. As an example, I give you The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, a Republican-sponsored, Republican-promoted exercise in outright science denial blessed by Koch Industries.
To amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or…
pharyngula | March 11, 2011I'm stunned. People actually elected this lunatic, Rand Paul?
So, somehow, Rand Paul, who is 100% anti-abortion, deeply resents the fact that the government wants to enforce energy efficiency and insist that we should conserve resources, because it infringes on his right to buy old hot wasteful light bulbs and toilets that use lots of water when they flush. Priorities!
If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office.
(via Jezebel)
pharyngula | March 11, 2011The Oregon House has passed a bill removing the special protections for faith healers. Sorry, god-botherers in Oregon, you don't get to claim the approval of gods to justify torturing, maiming, and killing your children with neglect.
It passed unanimously, too, although of course a couple of Rethuglicans had to voice reservations. Why? Because they're idiots.
Rep. Jim Weidner, R-Yamhill, said he worried "we might be heading down a slippery slope." He said he prayed earlier in the day about his son's severe tonsillitis. His wife took his son to the doctor Thursday morning, he added, but "am I…
pharyngula | March 11, 2011For a party that campaigns on small government and reducing interference in private lives, the Rethuglicans sure are ready to heap more restrictions on women. Look at the consequences of Nebraska's anti-choice law.
In Nebraska, one law already in existence heaped needless trauma on a mother's tragedy. Thirty-four-year-old Danielle Deaver was 23 weeks pregnant when she faced a fate "worse than your own death"— her baby would not make it. Her water broke early and, without amniotic fluid, the fetus would not develop lungs to survive outside the womb. Deaver and her husband decided they wanted…
drorzel | March 10, 2011A few more comments on the scientific thinking thing, because it's generated a bunch of comments. As usual, some of them are good points, and some of them have completely misunderstood what I was trying to say. so let's take another crack at it.
While the post was worded somewhat strongly, I'm not really trying to stake out a position diametrically opposed to what Neil DeGrasse Tyson said. In fact, I suspect we agree more than we disagee. We certainly share the same broad goal, namely to see more people thinking more scientifically more often. The difference is really a question of emphasis.…
aardvarchaeology | March 10, 2011
In Sweden, as increasingly in the entire industrialised world, the cost of archaeological rescue excavations rests upon the land developer. This is known as "contract archaeology" or, euphemistically, "mitigation". Here it's largely an affair within the public sector: most of the fieldwork takes place because of state road and railroad projects, and most of the contracts are picked up by state or county organisations. Though private foundations and limited companies do operate here, Swedish contract archaeology is mainly a question of routing money from taxpayers to public-sector…
pharyngula | March 9, 2011Don't you know it's my birthday? There's supposed to be some happy news to lighten my evening. But no, instead I learned that Wisconsin Rethuglicans made an end run to approve their governor's union-busting bill.
Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the state AFL-CIO, said Wednesday night's maneuver "shows that Scott Walker and the Republicans have been lying throughout this entire process."
"None of the provisions that attacked workers' rights had anything to do with the budget," Neuenfeldt said. "Losing badly in the court of public opinion and failing to break the Democratic senators' principled…
milhayser | March 8, 2011
House Republicans are pushing a bill that would cut funding for the National Institutes of Health by $1.6 billion, over five percent. Isis the Scientist issues a call to action, saying "Whether you are a scientist, a student, or a member of the public interested in the future of science, I join with Dr. Talman in asking you to call your Congressional Representatives and ask them to oppose HR1." DrugMonkey offers a cheat sheet full of facts, figures, and talking points so we can know what we're talking about when we contact our representatives. Orac calls the savings "minimal and symbolic…
drorzel | March 8, 2011Everybody's favorite science blogger did a podcast with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and has been posting highlights of it. One of these, on scientific thinking, has a bit that I don't quite agree with. Tyson says:
I think the, if it were natural to think scientifically, science as we currently practice it would have been going on for thousands of years. But it hasn't. It's relatively late in the activities of a culture. Science as we now practice it...this is a relatively modern, that's been going on for no more than 400 years. And you look at how long civilizations have been around, and you say,…
drorzel | March 6, 2011I've been sticking to my "no Internet before writing something" quota fairly well the last several days, with a couple of exceptions: 1) writing or no writing, I read a bunch of RSS feeds on my phone when I'm putting SteelyKid to bed at night, and 2) I keep following events in the Middle East via Al Jazeera online, mostly their live blogging from Libya. It's fascinating to watch.
Of course, this blog also has an official Senior Middle East Correspondent, namely my friend Paul, who is a journalist based in Cairo. When the Egyptian revolution started, he was out of the country on a family…
sa smith | March 4, 2011According to the 'Christian Martyr' Wikipedia page:
* Saint Stephen, Protomartyr, was stoned c. 34 AD.
* James the Great (Son of Zebedee) was beheaded in 44 AD.
* Philip the Apostle was crucified in 54 AD.
* Matthew the Evangelist killed with a halberd in 60 AD.
* James the Just, beaten to death with a club after being crucified and stoned.
* Matthias was stoned and beheaded.
* Saint Andrew, St. Peter's brother, was crucified.
* Saint Mark the Evangelist, was dragged in the streets of Alexandria then beheaded
* Saint Peter, crucified upside-down.
* Apostle…
jtoney | March 3, 2011
Source.
In general, I don't write about politics because by nature it is not scientific, and is not driven by data, by facts. But the example this week of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a bit much, prompting me to share this example of "false witness."
His remarks reflect an anti-intellectual, xenophobic mind set within our nation - the term "xenophObamia" comes to mind. Such provocative statements may not be an accident, given that Mike Huckabee is on a national tour to promote the publication of a new book. Perhaps posts such as this go under the category of there is "no such…
stoat | March 3, 2011Neither of which has anything to do with climate change. They are:
* Foster parent ban: 'extreme distress' of 'anti-gay' Christians' over ruling courtesy of the Torygraph; and
* ECJ gender ruling hits insurance costs
God hates fags
I was going to rant about the first one but I won't (err, other than my mildly provocative headline). Instead, I'll ask you to compare the Torygraph and the Beeb to the actual judgement, which helpfully contains a summary of the case.
From which I quote a bit of background: The claimants are members of the Pentecostalist Church and believe that sexual relations…
jtoney | March 3, 2011
BP's just released 2010 Annual Report to shareholders is proforma, with the exception of a detailed section titled "Gulf of Mexico Spill." (p.34; you can read the full report here.)
No bonuses for the top Executives this year, but rewards for "good business results." Something to think about the next time you fill up your tank!
Below are some selected highlights from the 2010 Annual Report:
BP's estimates of the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill:
Compensation of top Executives: (p. 112) (my emphasis)
While the tragedy of lost lives and environmental damage remains foremost in…
pharyngula | March 2, 2011This is a 5-week-old human fetus.
It's an awesomely cool period of development. Organogenesis is well under way, segmentation is completely, limb buds are forming. The heart is beating, which is neat, but then you have to keep in mind that you can tease a heart apart into individual cells in a dish and the cells will throb, so it's not exactly a magical indicator of sentience. Also, the embryo is only 2-3 millimeters long, which I find to be a highly evocative size: that's exactly how big my zebrafish embryos are when they have the same level of organization, with segments and organ…
pharyngula | March 1, 2011I predict it will quickly vanish from public attention. The University of Arizona is creating something called the National Institute for Civil Discourse. Just the title makes me want to gag.
Announced just last week by the University of Arizona, the new civility institute will have as honorary chairmen former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. Together with the institute's director, Brint Milward, they will promote compromise among opposing political parties and views and focus on political disagreements "from the grass roots all the way to the top."
Because, when the country is…
j7uy5 | February 27, 2011After the 2010 elections in the USA, headlines proclaimed, "
href="http://www.theolympian.com/2011/01/08/1498746/with-new-republican-majority-let.html">With
new Republican majority, let the investigations begin," and "
href="http://www.mmail.com.my/content/59595-new-republican-majority-congress-promises-tough-ride-obama">New
Republican majority Congress promises a tough ride for Obama."
One of the big targets for investigations:
href="http://www.thegwpf.org/science-news/2508-a-climate-skeptic-with-a-bully-pulpit-in-virginia-finds-an-ear-in-congress.html">climate
science.
"There'…
pharyngula | February 26, 2011This country recently managed to pass a rather lame compromise on health care: there is now a mandate that requires everyone to have health insurance, even if it is from a hodge-podge of insurance companies, with the intent of fairly distributing the expense. Unfortunately, one group got singled out with an exception from this requirement. Can you guess who?
Yep, Christians.
Did you know that if you are a Christian you are exempt from the taxes, penalties and regulations imposed by the recently enacted health insurance law?
All you have to do is to affirm a statement of Christian beliefs…
gregladen | February 26, 2011Many years ago, during The Roe v. Wade Fight (Part II: The Rise of the Right Wing Yahoos) a student came to me and asked for a break because she wanted to join a bus full of Brandeis students heading down to DC to protest stuff. I told her not to worry about the quiz coming up, just go and do her civic duty. That's when she chose to casually mention that "at least these days, we know how to do it, not like in the old days when protesters against the Viet Nam War were violent.
This caused me to whup her up side the head. Verbally, of course.
I explained that in the old old days, when the…