July 19, 2008
Al Gore just took the stage at Netroots Nation to talk about climate change.
Awesome!
Update: In an aside to the moderator, Pelosi whispered (thinking her mike was off) "It's really exciting that he's here."
Update: http://wecansolveit.org/
July 19, 2008
Asked at Netroots Nation, whether she'll work to end abstinence-only sex ed, she answers "Yes."
They are "a poor and a bad policy," and are "dangerous to the health of young women." We need better sex ed. "We need more pro-choice members of Congress."
July 19, 2008
Nancy Pelosi, speaking at Netroots Nation, says that the title quotation is what she hears in all her travels, wherever she talks to young folks here and abroad.
"Words, not weaponry, are the tools of the new generation," she says.
July 19, 2008
Before the Netroots Nation panel with Nancy Pelosi, we got a chance to get all our protesting out of our systems.
"Impeach Ron Paul" seemed to be the consensus.
July 19, 2008
On the way to Nancy Pelosi's "Ask The Speaker" event at Netroots Nation, I rode the elevator with Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC). Apparently we're staying on the same floor. I observed that he gets to ask Pelosi questions all the time, and he replied that he'd be sitting at the back, and anyway "…
July 18, 2008
Joy, of TelicThoughts, posted some gentle thoughts on PZ Myers, they were deleted due to "incompetence." As a public service, the vile mess is below the fold:
"He Should Die of Gonorrhea and Rot in Hell":
Yeah, that's a a movie quote*. And quite funny too, considering the movie and the context.…
July 18, 2008
Jim Slattery is awesome. Seeing him at Netroots Nation is even more awesome.
July 18, 2008
I just saw Paul Krugman wandering the halls of Netroots Nation, looking like a befuddled professor. Incredibly, he was not being swarmed by bloggers.
July 18, 2008
That's what John Dean just said, quoting Rep. Jane Harman, about Dick Cheney and the rest of the Republican party. Meanwhile, I note that John McCain still seems to think he's fighting Vietnam The Hundred Years War.
Let me say that Netroots Nation rocks. I ran into Nate Thames, a friend and…
July 18, 2008
Wednesday night, Ed Brayton and I joined Texas Citizens for Science and Center for Inquiry-Austin for a series of talks about science education in Texas.
Earlier that day, a number of people attended a legislative hearing on the Texas Board of Education's egregious abuse of power and process in…
July 14, 2008
I'm a fan of Randy Olson. Don't get me wrong about that. His Flock of Dodos makes a valuable point about science communication, and goes beyond the trite standard narrative of brilliant scientists battling ignorant creationists. There's a real problem, and caricature won't solve it.
Randy set…
July 14, 2008
Via ThinkProgress:
Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?
Mr. McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.
Only Florida currently bans…
July 14, 2008
I'll be in Austin, TX later this week to attend NetrootsNation and to stare steely-eyed at the state's Board of Education. I will also be part of this exciting event:
Speakers to Highlight Dangers of Creationism Encroaching into the Public Schools
Austin, Texas (July 10, 2008)- Science education…
July 14, 2008
West Oakland shooting sends one to hospital:
A person was shot in the chest and leg Sunday night in West Oakland, police said.
Teen dies in Oakland shooting:
A 15-year-old boy was shot to death Saturday night not far from his East Oakland home, police said.
Mountain lion jumps man in Palo Alto…
July 12, 2008
Shorter Matthew DeBord: If GM stops making the Hummer, the French will win WWII.
Honestly:
…it would be a mistake for GM … to sell the brand to an upstart carmaker in India or China or to breed it as a hybrid, as some have suggested. GM desperately needs an obnoxious, attention-grabbing brand to…
July 11, 2008
One of the joys of Bay Area living is the unusual headlines in the paper. To whit: Alameda County pot clinics can now sell hashish:
The main changes to the ordinance, however, involve proposals that came during the ordinance's two-year review.
The one change will allow licensed dispensaries in…
July 10, 2008
I'm super-excited to be attending Netroots Nation in Austin next week. One of the coolest things they're doing is a Q&A with Speaker Pelosi. But I join Nick's concern about the questions people want asked:
For those of you who plan on going to Netroots Nation, or watch Speaker Pelosi's…
July 10, 2008
Our President:
President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit.
As he prepared to fly out from Japan, he told his fellow leaders: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
President Bush made the private…
July 8, 2008
Disco. Inst. flack Rob Crowther is crowing about a grant they gave to Guillermo Gonzalez. Gonzalez was the Iowa State University astronomer who got tied in with the ID creationists at Disco. and with the old-earth creationists at Reasons To Believe, then was denied tenure when his publication rate…
July 7, 2008
Via ThinkProgress, we have Fred Barnes dismissing the resurgence of the Taliban:
On Fox News Sunday, Fred Barnes argued that war in Iraq is “so much more important” than the war in Afghanistan. Iraq is a “country in the heart of the Middle East, one of the most important countries there, an oil-…
July 4, 2008
Or if you prefer a less accurate form of puppetry:
*/
Enjoy your Independence.
July 2, 2008
Hilzoy mocks a column in the American Spectator. A former Reagan staffer wildly speculates that:
In this Obamaland vision the state would mandate that every heating and cooling system in a private dwelling include a "non-removable" FM receiver that would allow the government to decide the…
July 2, 2008
According to a press release datelined from Mumbai, the crapfest Expelled will be distributed on DVD by Vivendi Entertainment, proud home of many classic films. If you want reruns of Swamp Thing or McHale's Navy, you always knew Vivendi Entertainment was the place to go. But did you know they've…
July 2, 2008
Five years ago, President Bush called out Iraqi insurgents, telling them to "Bring 'em on!" and they did.
The only thing that has changed the rates of US fatalities seems to be a cease-fire in recent months by the forces of Moqtada al-Sadr. Evidence suggests that he is using this time to rebuild…
July 1, 2008
In an otherwise correct piece about the disappointing speech Obama gave about "faith-based" initiatives, PZ concludes by writing:
End the faith-based initiatives. The government should only be supporting programs that work — at least, in my dreams of an efficient administration, anyway.
The problem…
June 30, 2008
The Washington Post points out that:
as justices finished their work last week, two overarching truths about the court remained unchanged: It is sharply divided ideologically on some of the most fundamental constitutional questions, and the coming presidential election will determine its future…
June 30, 2008
The cool kids are wondering what happens when you:
Take out your iPod (or Zune, I guess...really, who buys a Zune?)
Press shuffle songs.
Answer the following: a) How many songs before you come to one that would absolutely disqualify you from being President? b) What is that song?
After a random…
June 27, 2008
On October 30, 2007, the GOP Convention site was overjoyed at a Washington Times article touting the convention's green efforts:
Tree-huggin' GOP
"Republicans are committed to making next year's nominating convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul the 'greenest' in party history. From transportation to…
June 26, 2008
I haven't written much about Jim Slattery's race to replace Memory Pills Roberts. Not because it isn't an interesting race, just because I haven't had much to say. Slattery knows Kansas and is experienced at winning elections there, Roberts has done a crappy job, and I hope Slattery wins. For…
June 26, 2008
My high school buddy James Grimmelmann unleashes on Newsweek:
Tony Dokoupil manages to write 1,200 words in Newsweek about professional psychics without once telling his readers the single most relevant fact: Psychic powers don’t exist. Would Newsweek run an interview with the Easter Bunny? Would…
