November 19, 2008
I want to add a point to my response to the Disco. Inst.'s claim that TFN's survey of Texas biology teachers is a "push-poll" and "jackbooted thuggery."
That language is unbecoming and unprofessional, but we have all come to expect that from the Discovery Institute.
It is also hypocritical.
I…
November 19, 2008
I haven't blogged about the fight for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee because I thought it was a done deal. Rep. Dingell has been running that committee for an eternity, and he has a lot of power and support. He is also, unfortunately, in the pocket of Big Oil and Big…
November 18, 2008
The Disco. Inst. is in a tizzy. No, it's more than a tizzy, it's all-out Disco. Inferno! Spokesman Rob Crowther writes: Liberal Darwin Activists Spin Push-Poll in Attempt to Water Down Science Standards:
The liberal Darwin lobby group Texas Freedom Network has just published a push-poll of…
November 18, 2008
Rumors hold that Eric Holder is under consideration for Obama's Attorney General. He would be the first black AG, and is exceptionally well-qualified for the job.
Hillary Clinton is rumored to be a top candidate for Secretary of State. This will be a grave disappointment to Sadly, No!, who boldly…
November 17, 2008
Martin Cothran jokes:
Are the issues of same-sex marriage and interracial marriage the same kind of issue? Well, we could be smart alecky and point out that one has issue and the other doesn't, but we won't settle for that.
This is an example of a joke that isn't a joke; joking-but-for-real, if you…
November 17, 2008
I know I said that "all you need to know about [Martin] Cothran" is that he managed to misidentify both my employer and my profession and then repeat those easily corrected errors many times.
But it turns out there's more to Cothran. Sure, he's bigoted, has an odd fascination with the word "faggot…
November 14, 2008
Last October, there was a brief period when smart people wondered whether wingnuttery had crashed and burned. Within 7 minutes, it was determined that wingnuttery had not reached a peak, and was likely to continue expanding indefinitely in its inanity.
And yet, post-election, I feel a great lack…
November 13, 2008
As part of our multi-part colloquy regarding whether Martin Cothran is, in fact, a gigantic bigot for wanting to take away marriages from 18,000 gay people married in California, the Disco. Inst. blogger wonders:
Isn't the whole debate about whether they are marriages in the first place?
No.
As…
November 12, 2008
Martin Cothran, bigoted Disco. Inst. blogger and staffer with the Kentucky affiliate of Focus on the Family, is very worried. Having pitched a hissyfit when his bigotry was called bigotry, he is now worried about What McCarthy would do if he were gay. He does this without any jokes at all about…
November 11, 2008
Ronald M. Green writes in the Washington Post:
Few issues are likely to generate more emotional opposition than federal funding of stem cell research. Handled wrongly, it could energize conservative opponents and derail Barack Obama's presidency. There is no question that we must move ahead, but…
November 11, 2008
Disco. Inst. blogger and staff member for the Kentucky affiliate of Focus on the Family wonders:
Are gay rights groups turning into hate groups?
No.
This has been your simple answer to another stupid question.
Cothran's argument is actually much stupider than it might seem:
For all their rhetoric…
November 11, 2008
When I moved out to California two Augusts ago, I had several moments a day when it just hit me: I live here! It was a little rush, a moment of recognition that my life was different in excellent and as-yet-unexplored ways. I still get those moments, especially when I get a glimpse of fog running…
November 11, 2008
Happy Veterans Day to all those who've served in uniform. And may we hope that one day the guns will fall silent again, as they did on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 90 years ago.
November 10, 2008
Comparisons between President Obama and President Franklin Roosevelt are becoming common, and for good cause. Both swept to power amidst a collapsing economy, and both came to Washington with newly strengthened Democratic majorities – majorities elected on a promise of change.
One lesson I hope…
November 9, 2008
I confess that I still don't know how I feel about the events of last Tuesday. There's an overwhelming elation, but also the knowledge that the next 4-8 years will be tough. Republicans will be sniping at the Obama administration, and the Democratic circular firing squad is already assembling.…
November 6, 2008
This summer, I sat in with some big shots to discuss the future of science policy in an Obama Presidency, and of space policy in particular. One of the ideas I pushed, and which received general support, was the importance of a cabinet-level science advisor to the President, one who would be…
November 6, 2008
I think RFK, Jr. would be a poor choice for the EPA or Department of the Interior (posts he is rumored to be under consideration for), but I'm not nearly as worked up as many of my fellow bloggers are.
In his favor, Kennedy has a reputation as a staunch defender of wild places, and an opponent of…
November 6, 2008
So conservatives kinda got spanked on Tuesday, and they aren't happy. Not only are the conservablogs pissed, I'm getting endless discussions on TV and radio about how conservatism, or the Republican brand, can rebuild. But I don't care. If they don't rebuild, I don't know that anyone will be…
November 6, 2008
I didn't acknowledge the joy that I felt when I learned that we will, in fact, have Supertrain in California. High speed rail from SF to LA, with future routes to San Diego, and hopefully on to Portland and Seattle one day. It's awesome.
The proposal has its flaws, not least that it isn't running…
November 6, 2008
So…
Fuck yeah!
(Photograph from 2006)
November 5, 2008
I await my assignment to one of President-For-Life Elect Hussein Obama X's Slavery Reparation Camps.
November 4, 2008
That was the chant tonight in the Rio Casino ballroom in Las Vegas tonight. Barack Obama won a resounding victory nationwide, and especially in Nevada, where I and some friends have been campaigning for several weekends. I'm also encouraged to see Indiana now in Obama's column.
More on that later…
October 30, 2008
I just flew back from Washington, and boy are my arms tired. Expect blogging to be intermittent for a little while.
To fill the time, I suggest voting, and volunteering to get Obama elected and to defeat anti-family initiatives like Prop. 8 in California.
October 29, 2008
Politico reports (via Benen):
Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s latest advertisement suggests her Democratic opponent, Kay Hagan, is a godless heathen.
“A leader of the Godless Americans PAC recently held a secret fundraiser for Kay Hagan,” the 30-second spot says, showing footage of the group’s members…
October 29, 2008
Seed Magazine's editors come out for Barack Obama:
Our world is more complex, dynamic, and interdependent than at any time in recent history. Financial markets are in turmoil, geopolitical conflicts abound, and our pale blue dot is in serious peril. Yet these are also times for great optimism — …
October 29, 2008
Senator Pat "Memory Pills" Roberts seems to have forgotten that ethics matter for a United States Senator. After his close friend, Sen. Ted "Effing Moron" Stevens was convicted of seven different corrupt acts, everyone from John McCain to the Senate Minority Leader have called on Stevens to resign…
October 28, 2008
As I reported yesterday, Republican Representative Frank Wolf was being pestered by questions from volunteers with the Judy Feder campaign, and Wolf's staffers physically attacked the volunteers.
Today, the Wolf campaign apologized, sort of:
At one point in the video, as [volunteer] Kent asks […
October 28, 2008
Disco. DJ Rob Crowther is upset.
A few days ago, I pointed out that his underling, Casey Luskin, has repeatedly misrepresented the Texas science standards revisions, in particular alleging conflicts of interest which do not exist while ignoring the profound conflicts of interest affecting expert…
October 27, 2008
For President: Barack Obama. 'Nuff said.
House: Barbara Lee.
In Kansas, Boyda, Betts, and Moore.
Senate: No race in California, Jim Slattery in Kansas. The Wichita Eagle, the KC Star, and just about every other serious observer of Kansas politics likes Slattery, and thinks Pat Roberts has lost…
October 27, 2008
Beating up people with questions:
Raising Kaine explains that:
On Friday, two [Democratic challenger Judy] Feder staffers approached Congressman Wolf in a public location to ask him some questions. Two different individuals who were accompanying Congressman Wolf (staffers? relatives? friends?)…
