We’re in Washington D.C., primarily for the wedding of a friend of mine from college. Secondarily, Jodi and I are using this opportunity to hit the Hill and talk to some of our elected representatives. We decided to try for appointments with three offices: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Congressman David Obey, […]
Politics
277 posts
Every year, scientists from all over the United States make personal visits to their elected representatives in Washington D.C. This ability to have an individual interaction to achieve collective action is a wonderous feature of our democratic society. When I first experienced this in 2003, I shared the optimisim of […]
Katrina is projected by some to cost the United States $200 billion. That’s basically the pricetag, as it stands now, of the war in Iraq. The irony here has not been overlooked, and the contradictions in a war to prevent terrorism being matched by a disaster we saw coming have […]
This morning, I faxed to my elected officials letters discussing the importance of the method by which Congress reviews publicly funded science. This letter-writing campaign was kicked off by the singling out in June of three climate scientists by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which I’ve mentioned in previous […]
When science doesn’t inform policy, money can be cut from vital areas of the federal budget without an inkling of the consequences. “As Molly Ivins noted in the Chicago Tribune”:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0509010009sep01,1,6491327.story?ctrack=1&cset=true, when the Congress did away with the Office of Technology Assessment in the 90s, they appear to have done away […]
Sometimes, in science, it’s just laid out like that. Yeah. And here is a wonderful example. The “National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has posted on its website four nearly simultanoeous op-ed pieces from scientists confronting intelligent design”:http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2005/US/170_a_quartet_of_opeds_9_1_2005.asp. The papers in which these were published include the New York Times, […]
Sometimes, University of Maryland physicist Bob Park has an uncanny knack for hitting every week’s science and society issues right on their collective head. This week is an excellent example. “Just go and read all his comments”:http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN05/wn090205.html. From women’s health and the growingly arbitrary definition of “life”, to the irrefutable […]
Let me just quote verbatim from Mr. Park: (“full article”:http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN05/wn090205.html) 2. THE POLL: INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS IN THE RIGHT PEW FAR RIGHT. The respected Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 64% of Americans favor teaching creationism along with evolution in public schools. A scary 38% want to […]
When Pat Robertson blatantly disobeyed the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” by calling for the assassination of Venezualen President Hugo Chavez, the reaction from some camps (ones with power) was subdued while the outcry from others was fierce. A man like Robertson, with the ear of the President, who professes […]
“New Orleans is in utter chaos”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hurricane_katrina;_ylt=AnJD_2nAkz_gYy_5_IA_tO2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ–. I’m all for optimism, but it’s not clear to me that Federal officials are willing to back up all that talk. When even those in charge of New Orleans lose hope and cry for help, there can be no deeper desperation. What does it […]
According to the New York Times, “in a poll released yesterday 42% of Americans believe that all life has existed unchanged since the beginning of time, while 60% believe that either a creationist or intelligent design doctrine is the way to go”:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/national/31religion.html?ex=1283140800&en=39489e715718912f&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss. Dr. Eugenie Scott, and outspoken supporter of teaching […]
“The NY Times has a long article on the history and finance of the Discovery Institute, as well as its campaign to inject non-science into the science classroom”:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/national/21evolve.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5089&en=24bc7c9c168ac8a8&ex=1282276800&adxnnl=0&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1124576825-jnRIYk4t25rJCvsuvxP4ww. Here are a few things I found fascinating and scary: * “When someone says there’s one thing you can’t talk about, that’s […]