Politics
pharyngula | January 27, 2011For many years now, Texas has been carrying out a great experiment: they've been pursuing Republican policies to a far greater degree than other states, and Texas is therefore a little glimpse into the American future, if we continue as we have. And that future seems prosperous, with a strong pro-business environment fostered by a government that would do anything to help a millionaire.
So why don't I want to live in that future?
It turns out that the price Texas pays to prop up business is paid for with the dreams of children. Happy corporate income reports are gouged out of the next…
jtoney | January 26, 2011
Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Obama focused attention on preparing the United States to thrive against global competition.
President Obama's 2011 State of the Union speech was broad, thematic and optimistic as expected. Each listener comes to such a speech with their own perspective and background. As a scientist, I was particularly encouraged to hear a theme of the importance of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to drive innovation, a call for more respect for teachers as "nation builders" and, perhaps most poignant - the President's…
sastyk | January 26, 2011The good news is that everyone was more or less happy about Obama's stated energy policy last night. The Republicans were happy because Obama was talking about a "clean standard" which actually means "let's burn fossil fuels in a barely less harmful way" - ie, let's switch some dirty coal to natural gas, and pretend that "clean" coal is a reality, and that nuclear plants will come online rapidly and without massive subsidies. The Democrats were happy because some Republicans might tolerate a "clean energy" standard that takes emphasis off solar and wind. And everyone was happy because we'…
pharyngula | January 25, 2011I didn't vote for her. I still feel embarrassed for the whole state of Minnesota that Michele Bachmann represents us in congress. This is a woman who worships the constitution but has no idea what's in it.
I was just listening to the president's state of the union address, and getting very annoyed at all the obnoxious lip service paid to bipartisanship…when the Republicans have put up this moron to argue against Obama after his speech.
She's not the Republican representative. She's the official Tea Party representative.
Wait, what? Since when did the Tea Party acquire the credibility to…
gregladen | January 25, 2011And yes, Michele...
the Civil War was indeed fought to end slavery.
Your average teabagger probably thinks that the American Civil War was not fought to end slavery. I'm guessing that they subscribe to one of those revisionist versions of American History in which the Civil War was about something else and slavery had nothing to do with it. That idea always perplexed me until now. Now, because of comments made by Michele Bachmann last week I understand that they don't link the Civil War to slavery because they think that the institution of slavery was ended by the Founding Fathers.
Lat…
pharyngula | January 25, 2011Boo hoo, Fox News is reporting a new wave of disastrous economic news: the churches are going bankrupt and closing up shop. Future headlines I'm also looking forward to: "Meth lab economy collapses!" "Pedophile rings go out of business!" "Homeopathy peddlers file chapter 11, citing high cost of raw materials!"
jtoney | January 25, 2011
Tonight, President Obama will give his State of the Union address at 9 pm with a new twist: using the latest online technologies, including streaming visual aids, with charts and statistics relevant to his comments. What a wonderful way to engage and educate the public!
See you online.
From Senior Advisor to the President David Plouffe:
Good morning,
Tonight at 9 p.m. EST, President Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address and outline his vision for putting aside the politics that divide us and moving forward to create jobs, up our game to out-compete in the global economy, and…
drorzel | January 21, 2011Ephblog has mentioned Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy, Williams class of '96 several times, but until yesterday's announcement and an email from somebody else pointing it out, I never connected the name with the Chris Murphy who was a freshman playing rugby when I was a senior. Having looked at his video announcing his campaign for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat, though:
I do kind of remember a guy on the team who looked more or less like that. Only, you know, younger. (In my defense, he played on the line, and those guys were all kind of indistinct and overly well-groomed (no rugby player…
jtoney | January 20, 2011
A message sent this afternoon over Twitter by President Obama announces a new report, "Promises Kept," produced by "Organizing for America" (a project of the Democratic National Committee.) This brief document gives food for thought as we look towards the 2012 Presidential elections.
@BarackObama Barack Obama
Let's be the generation that makes future generations proud of what we did here.
Some selected highlights:
Do you think that these are promises kept? This is not a simple question but one that warrants careful thought. I do not have an answer.
REBUILDING OUR ECONOMY
RECOVERY ACT…
pharyngula | January 20, 2011Robert Bentley must have been feeling some political heat. After openly announcing his sectarian bias in a MLK Day speech, Bentley has offered a not-pology.
If anyone from other religions felt disenfranchised by the language, I want to say I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone in any way.
Jebus, but I hate that poor excuse for an apology. It happens all the time; someone says something stupid and wrong, and instead of saying, "I was wrong, I'm sorry and will try to change," they say, "I'm sorry you were offended by my remarks" — suddenly, the problem lies not in the error of the…
gregladen | January 19, 2011The U.S. House of Representatives voted 245-189 to repeal President Obama's health care law.
I'm sure I'm speaking to the converted here, but if you happen to live in a US Congressional district with one of those representatives who voted to repeal this law, I'd like to pass on one whopping big "Fuck You" for not doing enough in the last election.
And, if you don't like that, feel free to send me one as well, because I live in one of those districts. My representative is a virtual clone of Michel Bachmann but without the big hair. And he will be hearing from me.
Details.
pharyngula | January 19, 2011It's the 50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010, from the Buffalo Beast. It's epically brutal.
pharyngula | January 18, 2011The Republican governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, has moved on a little bit from the 1950s — he made a speech on Martin Luther King Day in which he declared himself colorblind and the governor of all the people of Alabama. How nice! But then, unfortunately, he had to ruin it by making a few exceptions.
But if you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother…
esiegel | January 16, 2011"Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree." -Terry Pratchett
With a high unemployment rate and many people having stopped looking for work, it's pretty hard to live in the United States and not be aware of the struggles many people are facing. Here's a song by Loudon Wainwright III to set the tone,
The Home Stretch.Although many people have their theories, it's worth asking just what the income disparity is in America. Thankfully, Catherine Rampell's NY Times article earlier this week came loaded with data from Rachel Johnson of the Tax Policy Center. Specifically, they…
pharyngula | January 15, 2011Jackie Trebesh and her daughter attended a Catholic church presided over by "Reverend" John Kelly. One weekend she was surprised when they were both denied communion. She was in for a further surprise: when she left the church, she was pursued by a Santa Rosa County deputy, pulled over, and given a warning for trespassing, at the request of the priest.
What do you think her crime was?
According to Trebesh, she learned the reason she was denied communion was because someone at the church had seen the daughter dispose of the host, as it is called, improperly in the church parking lot.
"The…
jtoney | January 13, 2011Just a thought regarding civility in the media. This road sign in Tucson, Arizona was just taken down today (yes, January 13) - thank goodness, after President Obama's speech last night. Is this a coincidence? Let us hope this could be the final example of using such provocation towards a purpose that seems counter productive - or is it? I agree, readers, this is becoming tiresome.
oracknows | January 13, 2011It is with some trepidation and more than a little regret that I begin writing this piece. The reason for my hesitation is that, by doing so, no matter what I say I'll be inserting myself into what appears to be a disagreement among people all of whom I admire very much. I don't really want to do it, but I feel obligated, because the issues brought up in the disagreement are important, and reasonable people can disagree--sometimes strongly--about them. I also believe that someone whom I admire greatly has made a regrettable mistake.
Over the last week or so, I've been blogging a lot about the…
jtoney | January 12, 2011As reported on a blog for The New York Times, only three elected members of Congress have signed the "Civility Pledge":
I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.
I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.
I will stand against incivility when I see it.
Could my fellow Sciblings sign such a pledge? I hope so. This should be easy. Let us inform and not fuel the fires for the extremists, regardless of ideology.
From The New York Times blog "The Caucus"
Just as Americans are debating whether untamed political rhetoric inspired the shooting of a congresswoman…
jtoney | January 12, 2011
"Our situation deteriorates" (since the elections) November 30, 2010
Today marks one year since the disastrous earthquake in Haiti. As we remember the thousands of lost lives, the injured and now the recovering citizens in the face of a cholera epidemic, I wanted to share their voices.
Yesterday, I attended a lecture in Washington, D.C. by Dr. Fritz Deshommes (University of Haiti), Vice Chancellor of Research. Filled with emotion about the loss and devastation after the earthquake last year, he emphasized the importance of science and technology in dealing with a natural catastrophe.…
drorzel | January 11, 2011As usual, the best commentary on this weekend's shootings comes from Jon Stewart:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Arizona Shootings Reaction
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>
The Daily Show on Facebook
If you prefer your sensible commentary in convenient HTML form, John Scalzi's got you covered.
Comments closed, because I don't want to host a discussion of this. If you want to hold forth on the situation, it's a big Internet, and there are lots of other places where you can do that.