tqa | 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, Shelley Batts put up a post discussing Barack Obama's attempts to take legal action against a self-professed pedophile who put a press release photo of Obama's kids up on his website, along with commentary handicapping the 2008 presidential election based on the "cuteness" of the candidates underage…
tqa | 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 history of groups of organisms. Molecular systematics is yet another one of those areas of evolutionary biology that is easy to misrepresent, and hard to understand. I'm going to (slowly) try to get posts up explaining the field in basic terms, starting with the basic vocabulary. This post is the first…
tqa | 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 brigade surgeon prior to deployment, the situation is likely to be a bit more complex than the article would make it appear.
Before I get into the specifics of the article, it might be good to start off with some basic facts about the operational medicine side of health care in the Army. For most…
tqa | 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 Salon article that discusses women in the military. Both articles touch on things that I pay attention to. My wife is currently a deployed battalion surgeon, and spent most of the year before deployment in the brigade surgeon job for her unit.
I'll comment on the deployment health article in a…
tqa | 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 their jobs as a direct result of the Walter Reed crisis. Until a permanent replacement is named, his job will be filled by his deputy, Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock.
Kiley's retirement is certainly overdue. His performance as commander of Walter Reed from 2002-2004 has been called into question as…
tqa | 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.
tqa | 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 John Edwards announced that he would boycott, and after Bill Richardson announced that he had changed his mind and was no longer planning to participate.
The final straw in this debacle probably came with yesterday's speech by Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. Ailes spoke while accepting a "First…
tqa | 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 no poem - so here it is:
Now that I've got that taken care of, I thought I'd join John Lynch in using the opportunity to call people's attention to an article that is quite possibly PZ's single greatest bit of writing: The Proper Reverence Due to Those Who Have Gone Before. Take a few minutes to…
tqa | 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 be taught to a certain standard.
Here's a choice bit from "American History Lesson 2:"
In 1692, Salem Witch trials. There was a panic that some girls, just about your age, were practicing witchcraft. Girls were prosecuted for this. Some were convicted and then executed. The authorities thought…
tqa | March 6, 2007
Speaking of Lt. Gen. "Heckuvajob" Kiley, John Stewart has some nice things to say about him.
tqa | 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 though the committee gave him every opportunity to blame others. The other blamed the situation on the failures of subordinates. One of them talked only to the Congressional subcommittee. The other, when given the opportunity, turned away from the committee, looked the troops who had suffered as a result…
tqa | 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.
Today, the national security subcommittee is holding hearings on the Walter Reed fiasco. This is a good thing. The military health care situation right now is insane, and hearings are an excellent first step in figuring out what needs to be done to fix it. Unfortunately, one or another of these…
tqa | 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 wounded soldiers being treated on an outpatient basis. The mold, mice, and mess in building 18 have, since then, received a great deal of attention. Within days, the commander of Walter Reed was fired, the Secretary of the Army resigned in disgrace, two special commissions have been appointed, and…
tqa | 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 they're not above putting a cheap hit in if they think it'll increase their chances.
Earlier this year, a senior pentagon official publicly suggested that companies should boycott law firms that provide pro bono defense to Gitmo detainees. That particular escapade did nothing for them. It outraged (…
tqa | 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 "official" Democratic candidate, Ned Lamont, didn't hurt Lieberman much, either.) His punishment for kissing off his party, and rejecting the verdict of the voters?
He's now the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Two weeks ago, Ollie North (of all people)…
tqa | 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 response to Casey, the "quote" is actually two separate quotes taken from two totally separate posts, and stuck together with a totally inappropriate ellipsis. (When two statements appear on two separate websites two months apart, you really aren't supposed to link them with three little dots and…
tqa | 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.
tqa | February 28, 2007Updated, ~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 good doctor, who is a pediatrician, declined to care for a child with an ear infection because her mother has tattoos. The doctor claims to simply be following "standards Merrill has set based upon his Christian faith." In this particular case, though, I don't think we can blame his Christian faith…
tqa | 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 him for being rich, smart, and a liberal all at once. And, of course, for winning the "Best Documentary" Oscar the other night.
You can say what you want about the conservative nonsense machine, but if there is one thing that it's good at, it's getting everyone to sing from the same page. The song…