TrueSlant: Hire Rachel Maddow to fix Meet the Press.
The Zoo: A Question to Ask, with an interesting comment thread
Mad Kane: Bystander President
Kickstarter: A 'geekoid novel for smart people' seeks funding
Hot Chicks With Douchebags: I hope this is the most difficult decision I have to make today. Who is douchebag of the week (exceptin' Jon Kyl)?
Counterpunch: A Muslim American Hero
Oliver Willis: "I Am an American Conservative Sh*theel"
PERRspectives: What's the matter with Oklahoma?
Rants From The Rookery: No wonder Republicans hate science
Welcome Back to Pottersville: Open letter to David B. Brown, "Attorney at Law"
The Brad Blog has done a great job covering FBI whistleblower, Sybil Edmond's, testimony
Many thanks to Blue Gal and Batocchio for filling in the past couple weeks
Pat Buchanan on MSNBC during a break in their wall to wall Michael Jackson coverage fear mongering over the energy bill that just passed the House.
Witt: Why doesn't anyone want to call it a climate bill?
Buchanan: Well, because the science is suggesting that maybe all of this isn't really happening or it's not really dangerous or it's not really man made. Barack Obama, the President is right when he said we shouldn't be afraid of the future. That is how this bill got passed through fear. We're all going to change. The climate's going to change. The oceans are going to rise. Our cities are going to be under water.
But more and more scientists are coming forward to say this is a hoax and a scam which is designed to transfer wealth and power from the private sector to the government sector and from the government of the United States to a world government. Which is what we're going to get in Copenhagen when we get this Kyoto two agreement.
Witt: Okay, here come the emails.
Alex, no one believes you didn't fully expect Buchanan to say something outrageous before you and your producers allowed him on the air. Don't go whining after it's too late about getting nasty emails for doing it. Buchanan fails to specify, and Witt fails to ask him just who these scientists are.
Poor Andy K!
Our webmaster Jamie sent the Crooks and Liars team a terrific link to a guy who re-configured his circa 1982 Commodore 64 computer so he could run Twitter from it. I said I could see running the youtube as an open thread -- dang, it's got five and a quarter inch discs in the video! -- if only I could mash it with Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science."
Andy swore that song would stick in his brain for the rest of the day. Good heavens!
It's been quite awhile since I've seen a right-wing meme as gobsmackingly stupid as the one John Stossel was promoting last week on Fox, notably on Glenn Beck's Friday show.
At ABC, the headline read:
John Stossel Says Killing Endangered Species Would Protect Them
Now, if you go read the text, it is a somewhat thought-provoking piece suggesting that the way to save certain endangered species -- such as the tiger, which is a victim of poaching for its prized body parts -- is to begin farming them. It's worked with a handful of other species, such as the bison and the rhino.
But the headline -- and the meme that Stossel pushed on Fox -- was that the way to save endangered species is to farm and consume them.
Which is, perhaps, one of the most monumentally stupid ideas anyone's ever proposed. The logical outcome of Stossel's argument is that ultimately we need to begin farming all the planet's wild animals.
Of course, the vast majority of endangered species are inedible and not particularly desired by humans to begin with, so that leaves them out of the farming equation.
Moreover, human consumption of a number of species -- most notably sharks -- is primarily responsible for their endangerment in the first place.
Finally, what we know actually does work with endangered species is this: We protect them from human predation and endangerment. And we protect their required habitat. In certain specialized cases, doing that may mean creating commercially protected spaces for them, such as with the bison and the rhino, in addition to their normal wild habitat. But feeding a market for their body parts is always a bad idea.
This is hardly Stossel's first venture into cockamamie science: He's a veteran global-warming denier too.
My friends the endangered killer whales, I think -- who of course no one wants to eat, much less farm -- might have an appropriate response to Stossel's proposal to farm them too:
Chris Matthews destroys Mike Pence over his and his party's views on evolution and science. Pence thinks Matthews arguments are "weak" but he denies the existence of the knuckle-draggers in his party and basically says he wants creationism taught in schools without using the word.
Matthews: You want to educate the American people about science and its relevance today. Do you believe in evolution sir?
Pence: Um...do I believe in evolution? I embrace the, the view that god created the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that's in them.
Matthews: Right. But do you believe in evolution as the way he did it?
Pence: The means Chris that he used to do that...I can't say, but I do believe in that fundamental truth.
Matthews: Did you take biology in school? Did you take science which is all based in evolutionary belief and assumption. The reason I'm asking this is not to pick a fight. If your party wants to be credible on science you've got to accept science. Do you?
Pence: I always wanted to play in Inherit the Wind but on the global warming issue I know that in the main stream media...
Matthews: See how you're hedging? This is why people don't trust Republicans.
Pence: In the main stream media Chris there is a denial of the growing skepticism in the scientific community about global warming.
[....]
For those of you who don't know the actual rules to Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, Sam Kass has a nice diagram right here. Those attending Netroots Nation this summer might also find Sam's "Algorithmic Analysis of the Climate of Pittsburgh, PA" helpful.
Open thread below.
The War on Science is finally over. Science won.
The key to Obama's executive order lifting limits on federal funding for stem-cell research, which he signed this morning:
This Order is an important step in advancing the cause of science in America. But let’s be clear: promoting science isn’t just about providing resources – it is also about protecting free and open inquiry. It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda – and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.
By doing this, we will ensure America’s continued global leadership in scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs. That is essential not only for our economic prosperity, but for the progress of all humanity.
This is part of Obama's broader vision of how government engages with science, as the WaPo's Rob Stein reported this morning. It's an approach that has drawn the approval of traditional conservatives like Nancy Reagan.
However, the religious-right nutcases will never be mollified, because apparently all human embryos are sacred vials of life that must be preserved all costs. (No word yet on what to do about that evil "periods" thing.) As Howie notes, this includes Rep. Eric Cantor.
Likewise Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, cited by MSNBC's Tamron Hall in the clip above:
I believe it is unethical to use human life, even young embryonic life, to advance science. While such research is unfortunately legal, taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for experiments that require the destruction of human life.
Rep. Jim Langerin, D-R.I., gave a succinct and powerful response to this nonsense:
Well, as a pro-life Democrat, I say, what could be more pro-life than research that would extend and improve the quality of life for millions of people who are struggling with some of life's most challenging chronic conditions and diseases. You know, why should a child who has diabetes have to endure a lifetime of painful shots and tests? Why should someone who, especially a child who may have a juvenile form of cancer, whose life may very well be cut short, not know the promise of a full and rewarding life? By supporting stem-cell research, and finding treatments and cures that may be offered, we are doing just that -- extending and improving quality of life for millions of people. And that, I say, we have a moral obligation to support.
A cloned mountain goat, from a breed declared extinct in 2000. Scientists saved and froze the DNA before the last one died.
Details at Wee Mousie's. Open thread below.
On December 20, 2008 President-elect Obama introduced the team of men and women who will head up the nation's major scientific departments.
From The Young Turks Nov. 13, 2008 some good news for AIDS patients.
Oh, the gaffe-a-minute, never-vet-any-campaign-speech joy of the McCain campaign. Sarah Palin debuted both a new set of glasses and a new talking point about the way that the McCain/Palin administration will be smarter about the way government funds important programs:
Where does a lot of that earmark money end up anyway? [snip] You've heard about some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.
Apparently, Palin isn't aware of the kind of research done with fruit flies. Pharyngula:
This idiot woman, this blind, shortsighted ignoramus, this pretentious clod, mocks basic research and the international research community. You damn well better believe that there is research going on in animal models — what does she expect, that scientists should mutagenize human mothers and chop up baby brains for this work? — and countries like France and Germany and England and Canada and China and India and others are all respected participants in these efforts.
Yes, scientists work on fruit flies. Some of the most powerful tools in genetics and molecular biology are available in fruit flies, and these are animals that are particularly amenable to experimentation. Molecular genetics has revealed that humans share key molecules, the basic developmental toolkit, with all other animals, thanks to our shared evolutionary heritage (something else the wackaloon from Wasilla denies), and that we can use these other organisms to probe the fundamental mechanisms that underlie core processes in the formation of the nervous system — precisely the phenomena Palin claims are so important.
In fact, irony of all ironies, fruit fly research has actually aided in understanding a genetic component or predisposition towards autism.
How stupidly, small-mindedly paranoid is this?
... deep inside an 86-page supplement to United States export regulations is a single sentence that bars U.S. exports of vaccines for avian bird flu and dozens of other viruses to five countries designated "state sponsors of terrorism."
The reason: Fear that they will be used for biological warfare.
Under this little-known policy, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan may not get the vaccines unless they apply for special export licenses, which would be given or refused according to the discretion and timing of the U.S. Three of those nations — Iran, Cuba and Sudan — also are subject to a ban on all human pandemic influenza vaccines as part of a general U.S. embargo.
Even Bob Gates thinks it's "the nuttiest thing", when Indonesia does the same thing in reverse.
And the scientific community is not impressed.
Rightwingers scare more easily than liberals, according to a new study.
... participants were then given two laboratory tests, to establish their physiological responses to frightening or unexpected stimuli. In the first test, they viewed 33 images, three of which were distressing or threatening: a large spider on the face of a frightened person; a dazed person with a bloody face; and maggots in an open wound. The scientists measured the electrical conductance of the skin, a standard measure of distress and arousal.
In the second test, the volunteers were subjected to a loud, unexpected noise, with scientists measuring the involuntary blinking that followed. A strong startle response is indicative of heightened fear and arousal. The results, which are published in the journal Science, revealed significant differences in both responses, which corresponded with people’s political views. Those with “markedly lower physical sensitivity to sudden noises and threatening visual images” tended to support liberal positions, while those with strong responses tended to be more conservative.
This would fit with the hypothesis that people who have more fearful responses to perceived threats are more likely to be conservative, while those who have weaker responses develop more liberal views.
Jeebus, they went to all that trouble when they just could have asked Karl Rove? The GOP has been using fearmongering - on terrorism, evil axises, taxes, guns, God, gays etc etc - as a vote-getting tactic for how long now?
Remember this?
Download | play 
Download | play
Crossposted from Newshoggers
(Guest blogged by Nonny Mouse)
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that scientists in Silicon Valley have bred genetically modified bacteria that consumes agricultural waste and secrete crude petroleum oil.
That’s the good news. The bad news is…
I’m not quite sure. What about this pulling research and development away from cleaner renewable energy sources just to make more of the old stuff? Well, except… instead of pumping out more carbon into the atmosphere, this “Oil 2.0” is not only renewable but also carbon negative – it emits less carbon than is sucked from the atmosphere by the raw materials from which it is made. Oh, and the raw materials? Not going to be corn (so no more tortilla riots in Mexico City) nor palm oil (no more deforestation in the Amazon) – it eats wheat straw from California and woodchips from the timber industry in the South.
Well, how about everyone’s car having to be modified to burn the new stuff? Y’know, like hybrid and electric cars? Gee, um, nope. It’s completely interchangeable with fossil fuel oils we now suck out of the ground and refine. You wouldn’t even notice a change-over at the pumps… except for maybe the price once decoupled from OPEC.
How about cost? Hmm.
“Five to seven years ago, that process would have taken months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Greg Pal, senior director of LS9, the company making this stuff, says. “Now it can take weeks and cost maybe $20,000.”
What about… what about…? Genetic modification? Right, let’s not forget, GM is BAAAAD. Isn’t it? Hell, there’s gotta be something Big Oil can use to scare us into rejecting Oil 2.0…
We have the technology. We have the opportunities. We have the skills and the inventiveness. All we need is the will. And the politicians to listen to us instead of entrenched corporate interests…
