tqa | March 4, 2009
Today, we've got a case of "you keep using that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means." On a page that highlights news stories that "are mainly about Liberal hypocrisy", they report:
Refugees given homes, education, welfare benefits by Britain; in return, the Islamic terrorists plotted mass murder.
tqa | March 4, 2009
It appears that yesterday's reports that New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez was holding up the confirmation of both the Science Advisor and the NOAA administrator were not entirely correct. He may well be delaying these confirmations, but he's apparently not the only one. CQ Politics is now reporting that the nominations are being held by multiple members of the Senate. Due to the holds, there is currently no confirmation vote scheduled on the floor.
This is a very reliable report. CQ Politics is not basing this on anonymous sources. They are quoting Commerce Committee Chairman John…
tqa | March 3, 2009
The Guardian just announced that it's brought on four new columnists. These particular columnists are unusual, in that three of them are working scientists, and the fourth is an ethicist specializing in science and medicine. All in all, I think this could be a good move. The coverage of science by the mainstream media has not been outstanding of late, and giving working scientists a platform to talk about science might just help.
If I sound less hopeful than you expected, there's a reason. Unsurprisingly, the Guardian is describing their new columnists in glowing terms. Unfortunately, one…
tqa | March 3, 2009
UPDATE: 4 Mar 09 There are now reports that Senator Menendez is not the only Senator holding up these nominations. I've got a new post up with the updated information and new suggestions for ways you can help.
The Washington Post is reporting that Senate votes to confirm Jane Lubchenco as NOAA Administrator and John Holdren as Science Advisor are currently being obstructed by a Democratic Senator. Quoting multiple unnamed sources, the Post says that New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez has placed an "anonymous hold" on the nominations in order to try to gain leverage for some issues related…
tqa | March 2, 2009
Today seems like a really good day to try and start a conversation about the complex relationship between copyright and the internet. This morning, the New York Times website posted an article about concerns that for-profit publications have when it comes to other websites excerpting their writing. Late last week, Creative Commons officially launched their CC0 license, which is designed to make it easier for content creators to officially place their work in the public domain.
Brian Stelter's New York Times article notes that a number of traditional publishers are starting to worry about…
tqa | February 27, 2009
I know, I know, I really should stop going to Conservapedia, but it's got that train wreck thing going. Every time I go back, I think I'm not going to find something worse than the things I've already turned up. And every time I'm wrong. But I might just be right tonight.
Today, I found the "Liberal Denial" page. It's not one that you're going to want to read with your mouth full.
The page starts out by defining liberal denial:
Liberal denial is the tendency of liberals to conceal, deny or censor the truth for ideological reasons. A list of the top dozen common instances of liberal…
tqa | February 27, 2009
By now, you've probably heard that there's been quite a bit of controversy over a little story about bureaucrats and rescue boats that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told during his response to President Obama's speech earlier this week:
Let me tell you a story.
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: 'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!' I asked him: 'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?' He told me that he had…
tqa | February 26, 2009
Remember that Colorado State Senator I talked about yesterday? The one that voted against the HIV testing bill because he thought it would encourage humanity? It turns out that he really, really doesn't know when to stop talking. He gave an interview to the Rocky Mountain News after the vote. Reading the things he said, I'm well and truly past appalled. This man, who currently holds elected political office, clearly does not understand the concept of what it means to be a human being.
What he said afterward:
"What I'm hoping is that yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a…
tqa | February 26, 2009
Henry Gee's wife Penny is participating in The Race For Life (remember that name - especially the last word - it'll be important in a second) to benefit Cancer Research UK. Someone sent her a message saying that they're not comfortable donating to a charity that supports animal research.
That's fair enough. I don't have a problem with animal research myself, but it's a complex issue, and I can see how someone could have a different view. Sadly, however, the correspondent failed to quit at that point. Instead, the unnamed would-be philanthropist went on to ask if there was an alternative…
tqa | February 26, 2009
Matt "Framing Science" Nisbet has some more advice for scientists on things we shouldn't be saying:
Another frame to avoid is the same type of "war on science" and "restoring science to its rightful place" rhetoric that was used on the campaign trail and in the early days of Obama's administration.
While during the Bush era this public accountability frame justifiably mobilized liberals and many scientists, now that Obama is in office the same message likely alienates Republican segments of the public that the president desperately needs to rally around climate action. The frame provides…
tqa | February 25, 2009
I'm going to take a break from my semi-masochistic browsing of Conservapedia tonight. Instead, I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight some much more malignant views.
There have been two separate incidents of hateful speech and behavior, involving two separate Colorado State Senators, in the past week.
The first incident took place on Monday. Republican Scott Renfroe took to the floor of the State Senate to speak in opposition to a bill that would (OH NOES!) give some benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. Renfroe apparently started off by informing the crowd that Eve…
tqa | February 25, 2009
I've already talked about the basic dishonesty Bobby Jindal exhibited when he took a swipe at the mention of "volcano monitoring" in the stimulus - Jindal claimed that there was $140 million in there for "volcano monitoring", when it's actually only one of a number of projects listed under that line - but there's something more important that I didn't discuss. I took a swipe at the messenger, but what about the message? Jindal may be a liar, but that doesn't make him wrong.
He is wrong, of course. He delivered the argument dishonestly, but the argument still fails on the merits. Volcano…
tqa | February 24, 2009
A few minutes ago, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal finished delivering the Republican response to President Obama's kinda-sorta-but-not-really State of the Union Address. During his reply, Jindal took aim at some of the items contained in the stimulus package. One of the remarks, in particular, caught my attention. Jindal claimed that the stimulus included, "$140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.'"
The reference about volcanoes might have given Jindal an opening for an attempt at snark in his next sentence ("eruption of spending"), but it wasn't based in reality. Here's…
tqa | February 24, 2009
Tonight's Conservapedia fun comes courtesy of their entry for "Moon":
Atheistic theories of the origin of the Moon, widely taught for decades despite lacking the falsifiability requirement of science (see Philosophy of science), have been proven false.
If you want to comment on this one, feel free. But I'm really not sure what you can say to this one.
tqa | February 24, 2009The first Diversity in Science blog carnival is up over at Urban Scientist. This one is truly a must read - particularly if you're unfamiliar with the subject.
tqa | February 24, 2009
Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning has apparently found an innovative new way to get his colleagues in the National Republican Senatorial Committee to support his re-election campaign: threaten to sue.
Yes, I really am serious.
Bunning threatened to sue the committee if it supported Williams or any other challenger.
"I would have a suit against the NRSC if they did that," he said, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
"Support of incumbents is the only reason for [the NRSC's] existence," Bunning added. "So if they recruited someone and supported them in a primary against me, I would be…
tqa | February 24, 2009
Tonight, President Obama is going to address a joint session of Congress. It's the same time of year that the State of the Union Address is given. It's the same format. It's expected that he will cover the same kind of topics that you see in the State of the Union. There's even going to be a speech in response from the opposing party - just like the State of the Union. But tonight's speech is not a State of the Union Address.
At least if you live in the United States. Internationally, the speech is at least occasionally being billed as The State of the Union. So what's the deal?…
tqa | February 24, 2009As some of you may be aware, over the last couple of weeks Timothy Sandefur and I had a debate on our blogs on the topic of government funding for scientific research. He argued against it; I argued for it. We wrapped up the debate yesterday. If you're interested in taking a look at the whole thing, I've put links to all of the posts in the debate (in chronological order) below the fold.
Sandefur's opening postSandefur's reply to some of the comments about his opening postMy reply
Sandefur's second postMy reply
Sandefur's third postMy reply
Sandefur's final postMy concluding thoughts
tqa | February 23, 2009
What Government - at least as we know it - Is.
Timothy Sandefur and I have been debating the proper role of government in funding scientific research for a couple of weeks now. Over the course of the debate, it's become clear to me that he and I do not have a common understanding about what our government actually is, or what the right relationship between the government and the citizens actually is.
Over the years, we humans have tried out more forms of government than you can shake a stick at. In the context of this particular debate, though, whenever we've used the term "government",…
tqa | February 23, 2009
I've been trying to keep my weekday posting frequency fairly high, but that's difficult today. My internet (and cable and home phone) is nonfunctional at the moment, and has been for most of the day. Hopefully, Mediacom will have things sorted out by the morning (or earlier), but until they do the only place I have internet access in my house is one corner of my front porch.