We’ve got a question going around: it’s been a good year for Europe in the Nobel Prizes, so what does it mean for American science? Are we slipping? Is there a European bias?
I must be the last one to hop on this bandwagon — only because I had to give everyone else a chance first, you know, I wouldn’t want to drain all the donors* — but now it’s about time I joined in. Scienceblogs is working to raise money for teachers, and we need you all to chip in and donate to DonorsChoose. Go ahead and donate to any of the projects on the Scienceblogs leaderboard, or you can donate to the
specific projects in the Pharyngula challenge. It’s all a good deal, because Seed will match funds, up to $15000.
So come on, dig into your pockets, and hand over a little cash to the deserving cause of science education.
*Actual reason: because I suck. But you all knew that.
John is right. This is in the running for the dumbest theist argument ever.
Here’s a nice collection of anti-creationism cartoons, all in one place. Very handy!
(via Greg Laden)
Who knew I’d ever be grateful to Fox? They ran a pathetic scare story about Air America waging a war against god (they seem to spend the most time reassuring themselves that those atheists are small in numbers), but the useful thing about it is that it did manage to let me know that there is something new called Freethought Radio, with streaming audio. It’s very kind of them to advertise for the godless liberal demographic.
If you’d like a less intemperate and bloodcurdling review of The Spiritual Brain than mine, here’s one from a professor of religion.
He doesn’t seem to like it much, either.
A few weeks ago in Bio-chem, we learned about fatty acids. We learned that any partially hydrogenated fats/oils are trans fats. If it’s under .5 grams per serving, food companies are privileged to round that number down and boast their food as “Zero Trans Fats.”
This hit home to me this morning. I was eating a General Mills cereal. While the box claimed to have zero trans fat, the ingredients list revealed a dirty secret: partially hydrogenated coconut oil. Nice move GM.
Dear FDA, grow a spine.
Since we have a few people who seem to like poetry here, I thought you might be amused by some Christian poems. Actually, if you like and respect poetry, you might not want to click through that link—this is poetry like throwing a cat in a woodchipper is music. I’ve included a few small fragments below the fold if you just want a taste.
November 13, on PBS’s Nova: “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial.”
I think I’ll try to catch that one.
David Horowitz (you all remember him, right? Deranged anti-intellectual wanker?) He has declared 22-26 October to be Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, to be represented with talks by such towering intellects as Rick Santorum, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity.
Brian Leiter has a complementary suggestion: the week after should be Christian-Fascism Awareness Week.
Now I don’t want to interfere with Horowitz’s effort, which is in the spirit of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan: "fundamentalism is the enemy of all civilized humanity." So one week devoted to Islamic fundamentalism seems right; but why not devote the next week to Christian fundamentalism? The rise of Christian Fascism has gotten some attention lately, but not nearly enough in our "politically correct" culture. Sure, the Christian Fascists aren’t quite as scary, since they rarely commit terrorist acts (except against abortion service providers); on the other hand, they’re right here in our midst (even in the White House some say), while the Islamic Bogeyman-In-Chief is in a cave somewhere in Pakistan.
I’d suggest that the Christo-Fascists have done far more damage to our country than any Islamo-Fascist — after all, the Islamic hordes haven’t been responsible for stripping away our civil liberties, nor did they force us to spend trillions on a fool’s war, nor did they turn Jesus into Mammon, nor did they replace education and science with ignorance and piety.
I’m all for this suggestion. I’m sure that Santorum, Coulter, Hannity, Dobson, Perkins, Robertson, etc., etc., etc. will all happily join us in fighting this grave threat to American security and freedom, too.
