Mike Dunford
tqa
Posts by this author
March 13, 2007
Warning:This post contains commentary on an issue raised at another of the blogs on this network. The topic material involves pedophiles and first amendment rights, and is not suitable for all audiences. I know for a fact that it makes me feel pretty damn uncomfortable.
A couple of days ago,…
March 13, 2007
One of the perennial favorite targets of anti-evolutionists is the field of molecular systematics. Molecular systematics, for those of you who are not familiar with the term, refers to the practice of using biological molecules - things like proteins, DNA, and RNA - to study the evolutionary…
March 12, 2007
As I mentioned earlier, both Mike the Mad Biologist and Josh Rosenau of Thoughts from Kansas have commented on a recent Salon article that features accusations that medically unfit troops are being deployed. The situation, if true, is unacceptable. However, judging from my wife's experiences as a…
March 12, 2007
There are a couple of posts up here at Scienceblogs about the situation in Iraq. Both Mike the Mad Biologist and Josh Rosenau discuss a recent Salon article that features soldiers who claim that they are being sent back to Iraq despite being medically unfit for duty. Josh also discusses another…
March 12, 2007
According to AP reports, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley has announced his resignation as Surgeon General and his retirement from the military. Kiley joins Army Secretary Francis Harvey and Walter Reed commander Maj. Gen. George Weightman in the growing pool of individuals who have lost…
March 9, 2007
If making pina coladas, first make extra certain that you have fully cleaned out all traces of the salsa you made yesterday from the blender.
March 9, 2007
In a major victory for Democratic netroots activists, the Nevada Democratic Party has reportedly pulled out of the August Democratic Presidential debate that they were co-sponsoring with the Fox "News" Channel. The move comes after extensive pressure from a wide range of activist groups, after…
March 9, 2007
As almost everyone has already mentioned (there are perils to living in one of the last timezones before the dateline), today is P Zed Myers 50th birthday. Some, like Richard Dawkins) have done poems to celebrate the event, but I think a better present from me, given my talents, would be to write…
March 7, 2007
In addition to being a boundless resource for those seeking accidental humor, Conservapedia is also used as a resource by homeschooled children. "Lectures" for various "classes" are available on the site, and can easily be used to demonstrate the advantages in requiring that homeschooled children…
March 6, 2007
Speaking of Lt. Gen. "Heckuvajob" Kiley, John Stewart has some nice things to say about him.
March 6, 2007
Two generals sat next to each other at yesterday's Congressional hearings on the Walter Reed problems. Both are physicians. Both have experience commanding Walter Reed since the beginning of combat in Iraq. There, the similarities end. One of them stood tall and accepted responsibility, even…
March 5, 2007
Today, I'd like to single out two Congresscritters (and their staffs) for special recognition - Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Representative John Tierney (D-Ma), who chairs that committee's national security subcommittee…
March 4, 2007
If you live in the US and pay any attention to the news, you've probably heard something about the situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A feature article in the February 18th edition of the Washington Post set things off, reporting on atrocious conditions in a building used to house…
March 4, 2007
It looks like the administration is continuing to use one of their favorite tactics in the war on terror - handicap the defense by intimidating their lawyers before they get into the courtroom. Ed Brayton calls this the "Tonya Harding strategy," and he's right - the government wants to win, and…
March 3, 2007
Last summer, Joe Lieberman showed his support for the Democratic party by continuing to run for the Senate after losing the Democratic primary. The Republicans reacted to this by pulling their support from their own candidate, paving the way for a Lieberman victory. (The tepid support for the "…
March 2, 2007
Casey Luskin, over at the Discovery Institute's Media Complaints blog doesn't like the reaction that an Idaho crowd had to a PZ Myers quote. He believes that both Myers and the crowd were being intolerant.
Here's the PZ quote at the center of the issue. Actually, as Paul points out in his own…
February 28, 2007
I apologize for the way the blog looked earlier today, with all text appearing in bold and italic print. I screwed up the post before this one, and forgot to close a couple of html tags. The problem is fixed.
February 28, 2007
Updated, ~16:00h EST 28 Feb. I somehow managed to post this without the "below the fold" material. I've added the missing remainder of the post, and adjusted the timestamp to match.
PZ Myers, Kevin Beck, and a host of others have weighed in on the reprehensible conduct of one Dr. Gary Merrill. The…
February 27, 2007
It looks like the right-wing noise machine is (again) trying to beat back reality with truthiness. The current target is our former vice-president, Al Gore. It's kind of hard to tell what they think his current sin is, exactly. As far as I can tell, it looks like conservatives are mostly mad at…
February 27, 2007
Jake Young just drew my attention to one of the most wonderful signs of Bronx revitalization I've heard of in years - a beaver is making its home on the banks of the Bronx River near the Bronx Zoo. This is absolutely fantastic news - more so than I think Jake, who is a fairly recent arrival to NYC…
February 26, 2007
Yesterday, a brief review of Conservapedia appeared on one of New Scientist's blogs. The review quoted two Sciencebloggers as well as the Schlafly responsible for the Hellerian, if not Orwellian, trainwreck of a website), and has sparked a second round of posts here. A sane reader (presuming, of…
February 26, 2007
Over the last couple of days, Dr. Michael Egnor, an anti-evolution neurosurgeon who recently signed on to the Discovery Institute's list of "scientists" who doubt evolution, has created quite a stir here at Scienceblogs. Quite a few Sciencebloggers have already weighed in on his specific arguments…
February 26, 2007
Amanda Adams of OMB Watch was kind enough to draw my attention to a post by Paul Sherman over at the blog of the Center for Competitive Politics. It appears that Mr. Sherman liked neither the tone nor the substance of my last post on astroturf disclosure legislation. He was appalled by some of the…
February 22, 2007
Over the last few days, I've had a lot of conversations with scientists about what scientists can do to help change the way that the American public views science. The phrase, "what can I do?" has come up more than once in these conversations, but every time it has I've discovered that I was…
February 21, 2007
Quite a few of the others here at Scienceblogs have already taken a few minutes to poke fun at the new radical right attempt at creating an encyclopedia - Conservapedia. (See, for example, here, here, here, here, and here for just a few.) I sort of feel bad about joining in, in a way - the site is…
February 20, 2007
PZ has a brief post up commenting on an article on the Lippard Blog about a "dog" target that is routinely shot by DEA agents training for raids. Both link to an article that provides a list of numerous cases where police have killed pets. I think my take on the situation is a bit different from…
February 20, 2007
Earlier today, I got an email from a gentlemanlawyer named Mark Fitzgibbons. Mr. Fitzgibbons had apparently just read one of my posts about the "astroturf lobbying" bill. (It's encouraging to note that Mr. Fitzgibbons, who claims to be very concerned with the effect of this legislation on blogging…
February 17, 2007
It isn't possible to adequately describe what a long military deployment is like for those left behind, but I'm going to try anyway. I'm going to try, even though I know that my own experience and my own views aren't necessarily going to reflect what others in similar situations are going through.…
February 16, 2007
According to media reports, the anti-impotence drug Viagra was recently used in the UK to save the life of a premature infant. Yes, you did read that right. This case was apparently an instance where necessity and desperation were the mothers of invention, and it shows us just why it is so…