Real World Problems

Brandon Hardesty re-enacts the "Real World Problems" from his Physics textbook.

PH17:


P18:

More GOP and Evolution

Minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) was recently asked if he believes that the earth is merely thousands of years old. Perhaps sensing that his position is indefensible, Emmer dodges the question twice, says that he has a different science, and calls his questioner an "evolutionist." Fellow Minnesota Representatives laugh at him.



Isn't it sad that the Minnesota Republican party has elevated this guy to such a high position of leadership?

McCain on Homosexuality

John McCain recently wrote a letter (available HERE) in which he refers to the presence of open homosexuals in the military as an “intolerable risk to morale, cohesion and discipline” as well as national security.

In the process of explaining his position, McCain makes the mistake of saying about the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy that "[I]t has also been upheld by the Supreme Court, which has ruled that the military may constitutionally discharge a servicemember for overt sexual behavior." But in reality, the highest court to rule on this kind of case was the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court hasn't touched it.

The Supreme Court said this in 1984 (Palmore v. Sidoti) about giving such credence to racial discrimination, and I think it's very much applicable here:

"The question, however, is whether the reality of private biases and the possible injury they might inflict are permissible considerations... We have little difficulty concluding that they are not. The Constitution cannot control such prejudices but neither can it tolerate them. Private biases may be outside the reach of the law, but the law cannot, directly or indirectly, give them effect. 'Public officials sworn to uphold the Constitution may not avoid a constitutional duty by bowing to the hypothetical effects of private racial prejudice that they assume to be both widely and deeply held.'"

McCain further explains: "I believe polarization of the personnel and breakdown of unit effectiveness is too high a price to pay for well intentioned but misguided efforts to elevate the interests of a minority of homosexual servicemembers above those of their units." But it hardly seems like a misguided effort to elevate your interests when all you're asking for is to not get fired for being who you are. Since the DADT was first implemented, more than 11,000 servicemembers have been discharged for just that (many of whom even had special skills needed by the military).

Further, this is hardly a question about "unit cohesion." Charles Moskos, the principle author of DADT himself, has stated: "Fuck unit cohesion. I don't care about that...I should not be forced to shower with a woman. I should not be forced to shower with a gay." It should be perfectly clear to any observant person that this is a question of whether or not the private prejudices of certain individuals within the military should be sufficient to bar an entire class of people from military service. The answer to that question, as stated in Palmore, is clearly "no."

EDIT:

• A Zogby poll in December found that 73% of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan were "comfortable with lesbians and gays."
• A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior servicemembers believe gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.
• A 2007 Harris poll found that 55% of the American population favors allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military.
  

Seven Years of Marriage

Mitt Romney recently gave the commencement speech at Pat Robertson's Regent University (which is tied for the lowest ranking law school in the country), and he made a rather curious comment about marriage in France:

"It seems that Europe leads Americans in this way of thinking," Romney told the crowd of more than 5,000. "In France, for instance, I'm told that marriage is now frequently contracted in seven-year terms where either party may move on when their term is up. How shallow and how different from the Europe of the past."

The curious thing about this comment is that it's 100% not true. So where did Romney get this idea from? Well it seems like Mitt is confusing French civil law with that of fellow Mormon Orson Scott Card's Sci-Fi novel "The Memory of Earth," a fictionalization of the first 100 years of the Book of Mormon set in outer space. It takes place on Planet Harmony, which was colonized 40 million years after the destruction of earth, and the citizens contract for marriage in seven-year terms. They also have to resist the computerized Oversoul from maintaining control over the human race. This certainly seems the most likely candidate, since Romney has already expressed his affinity towards Sci-Fi novels written by crazy people (he says that his all-time favorite novel is Battlefield Earth). As far as the French connection goes, perhaps he's mixing this book up with the French comedy "7 ans de mariage."

Tom Delay and Godwin's Law

On his blog today, Tom Delay (pictured on the left) demonstrates that his irony-meter is broken.

Responding to recent comments by Vladimir Putin comparing U.S. foreign policy to that of the Third Reich, Tom Delay commented "Odd, I only thought it was the radical left in our own nation which enjoys likening the United States to Nazi Germany."

But Tom Delay has been pretty liberal himself with Nazi references. In his recent book, Tom Delay remarks:

“I believe it was Adolf Hitler who first acknowledged that the big lie is more effective than the little lie, because the big lie is so audacious, such an astonishing immorality, that people have a hard time believing anyone would say it if it wasn’t true. You know, the big lie — like the Holocaust never happened or dark-skinned people are less intelligent than light-skinned people. Well, by charging this big lie [that DeLay violated campaign-finance laws in Texas] liberals have finally joined the ranks of scoundrels like Hitler.”

In a radio interview last month, Tom Delay compared his indictment to "the eradication of six million jews" and said that "it's the same process."

Glenn Beck and Godwin's Law

In his recent documentary on CNN titled "Climate of Fear," Glenn Beck demonstrates that his irony-meter is broken.

I found this exchange from the program particularly interesting:

LEGATES: Somebody says that whenever you get into Nazi connections, you've really jumped the shark.

BECK: No Nazi references? But how would these people even form sentences? Even I got to jump into the World War II of weather. Robert F. Kennedy called me "CNN's chief corporate fascism advocate." When asked why by The Washington Post, he recalled that I was voicing doubts about global warming a few weeks back.

LEGATES: When you have the science on your side, you argue the science. When you don't have the science on your side, you attack the messenger.

I also liked this final thought from the program:
BECK: "You`d think that scientists would look back at their history, when out-of-control churches locked them in towers to stop progress, and realize that just yelling, "The debate is over, and these people are heretics or Nazis," as loud as you can is not really the best way to advance science."

But is this the same Glenn Beck who, just days earlier, said this:
BECK: "Now, I'm not saying that anybody's going to -- you know Al Gore's not going to be rounding up Jews and exterminating them. It is the same tactic, however. The goal is different. The goal is globalization. The goal is global carbon tax. The goal is the United Nations running the world. That is the goal. Back in the 1930s, the goal was get rid of all of the Jews and have one global government."

And this:
BECK: "You got to have an enemy to fight. And when you have an enemy to fight, then you can unite the entire world behind you, and you seize power. That was Hitler's plan. His enemy: the Jew. Al Gore's enemy, the U.N.'s enemy: global warming."

And this:
BECK: "Then you get the scientists -- eugenics. You get the scientists -- global warming. Then you have to discredit the scientists that say, "That's not right." And you must silence all dissenting voices. That's what Hitler did. That's what Al Gore, the U.N., and everybody on this global warming bandwagon -- all the way to RFK Junior, who has called me a fascist for doing it -- all the way over to the global warming special that happened over in London a couple of weeks ago that is fantastic."

And who said this, just one month earlier, about Al Gore's testimony before the Senate:
BECK: "It is really -- one of the things in it that I heard yesterday in his testimony that I thought was disturbing was this -- what did he call it? -- a massive persuasion campaign. That sounded a little bit like Goebbels or Gore-bels."

And who said this last year about Al Gore's movie:
BECK: "See, when you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. You know? It's like Hitler. Hitler said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in "and it's the Jews' fault." That's where things get a little troublesome, and that's exactly what's happening."

Mitt Romney On Pat Robertson

Mitt Romney recently gave the commencement speech at Pat Robertson's Regent University. Mitt had nothing but adoration for Pat: “This university, its students, its alumni and the faculty serve as an example of Dr. Robertson’s dedication to strengthening and then nurturing the pillars of this community and our country: education, fellowship, and advancement.”

First off, I wasn't aware that Pat Robertson was a doctor. He went to law school, but failed to pass the bar. He later earned a Master of Divinity degree from the New York Theological Seminary, but I wasn't aware that this earned you the title "doctor". Maybe he got an honorary degree from someplace...

Anyway, let's see what Pat Robertson has said in the past to strengthen the pillars of our community.

Pat Robertson on Dover Pennsylvania: "I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city."

Pat Robertson on the September 11 attacks: Two days after the terrorist attacks, Mr. Robertson held a conversation with Jerry Falwell on Mr. Robertson’s TV show “The 700 Club.” Mr. Falwell laid blame for the attack at the feet of “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians,” not to mention the A.C.L.U. and People for the American Way. “Well, I totally concur,” said Mr. Robertson.

Pat Robertson on Islam: "I believe it’s motivated by demonic power. It is satanic and it’s time we recognize what we’re dealing with. … [T]he goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination."

Pat Robertson on Ariel Sharon's stroke: "You read the Bible and He says 'this is my land' and for any Prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says 'no, this is mine.'"
-2006

Pat Robertson on assassinating Hugo Chavez: "I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it."
-The 700 Club, August 22, 2005

Pat Robertson on Hinduism: "The origin of it is all demonic. We can't let that stuff come into America. We've got the best defense, if you will -- a good offense."
-1995

Pat Robertson on non-Christians: "When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. `What do you mean?' the media challenged me. `You're not going to bring atheists into the government? How dare you maintain that those who believe in the Judeo-Christian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, `Yes, they are.'"
-Pat Robertson's "The New World Order," page 218

Pat Robertson Invoking Godwin's Law: "Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history."
-Interview With Molly Ivins

The GOP and Evolution

At the Republican debate last night, the moderator asked if any of the ten candidates did not believe in evolution. Three of the ten(Brownback, Tancredo and Huckabee) raised their hands.

Just to flesh things out a bit, let's see what these guys have had to say about the topic in the past:

Sam Brownback:

• "it is impossible to observe macro-evolution, it is scientific assumption"
  -Speaking in support of the Santorum amendment (at S6152) which would have teachers present objections to evolution whenever it is taught in science classes

Mike Huckabee:

• "I think that students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism."
  -Arkansans Ask
  
• "I think schools also ought to be fair to all views. Because, frankly, Darwinism is not an established scientific fact. It is a theory of evolution, that’s why it’s called the theory of evolution. And I think that what I’d be concerned with is that it should be taught as one of the views that’s held by people."
  -Arkansans Ask
• "I do not necessarily buy into the traditional Darwinian theory, personally."
  -Arkansans Ask
• "If you want to believe that you and your family came from apes, I'll accept that....I believe there was a creative process.''
  -Associated Press
  

Misdirection

The Vatican accused a comedian of terrorism today for criticizing the pope.

The Vatican's official newspaper accused an Italian comedian on Wednesday of "terrorism" for criticizing the Pope and warned his rhetoric could fuel a return to 1970s-style political violence.

In an unusually strongly worded editorial, L'Osservatore Romano said a presenter of a televised May Day rock concert, which is sponsored by Italy's labor unions, had launched "vile attacks" on Pope Benedict in front of an "excitable crowd".

"This, too, is terrorism. It's terrorism to launch attacks on the Church," it said. "It's terrorism to stoke blind and irrational rage against someone who always speaks in the name of love, love for life and love for man."

So did this guy incite a riot or organize a terrorist plot to destroy Vatican City? Nope. He just criticized the church's stance on evolution ("the Church has never evolved") and their refusal to give a Catholic funeral to Piergiorgio Welby, an Italian poet diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, because he campaigned for euthanasia ("I can't stand the fact that the Vatican refused a funeral for Welby but that wasn't the case for [Chilean dictator Augusto] Pinochet or [Spanish dictator Francisco] Franco").

This is hardly the language of terrorism, and the church should perhaps direct its overwrought hyperbole elsewhere. Especially when one of the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention signed a petition in support of a real terrorist. Wiley Drake, vice president of the SBC, recently put his name on a petition in support of James Kopp, who has been convicted of killing an OB/GYN for performing legal abortions. The SBC is the largest Baptist organization in the world, and their support of this guy is far more likely to incite violence than the remarks of some comedian at a concert. Perhaps the Vatican newspaper should write an article about that rather than pretending to be a victim.

Rated D

Jack Valenti, long-time president of the MPAA, has passed away. Thankfully, Wikipedia is on the story:

It's really sad to see butt cancer claim another life, but I will always remember him for his tireless fight against the VCR: "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone."

Dead

Jesse Films

I have two friends named Jesse, and they both make films. Go figure. So here are two films they posted recently on youtube.

This first one was made by Jesse M. (who now goes to Columbia film school), and is titled Sunday Mornings. I love it:


This second one was made by Jesse V.H. (who goes to Cambridge), and is titled Natural Selection:

IPCC WGII

The IPCC released the summary report for the second Working Group this past Friday. It's available on their website here and is titled "Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability."

William Dembski on Galileo

William Dembski recently posted the following quote from Koestler on his website, in an attempt to rewrite history and paint the persecution of Galileo as really being just a quarrel with an entrenched and opressive scientific establishment:

“Galileo’s conflict with the church could have probably been avoided if he had been endowed with less passion and more diplomacy; but long before that conflict, he had incurred the implacable hostility of the orthodox Aristotelians who held key positions at the Italian universities. Religion and political oppression play only an incidental part in the history of science; its erratic course and recurrent crises are caused by internal factors. One of the conspicuous handicaps is the conservatism of the scientific mind in its corporate aspect. The collective matrix of a science at a given time is determined by a kind of establishment, which includes universities, learned societies, and, more recently, the editorial offices of technical journals. Like other establishments, they are consciously or unconsciously bent on preserving the status quo — partly because unorthodox innovations are a threat to their authority, but also because of a deeper fear that that their laboriously erected intellectual edifice might collapse under the impact. Corporate orthodoxy has been the curse of genius from Aristarchus to Galileo, to Harvey, Darwin and Freud; throughout the centuries its phalanxes have sturdily defended habit against originality.” (Koestler, The Act of Creation, 1969, p. 239)

What Dembski and Koestler fail to mention is that Galileo was brought before the Inquisition by then-pope Urban VIII and threatened with torture unless he retracted all his previous statements regarding heliocentrism. Galileo knew that they meant business, since they had recently burned Giordano Bruno alive for exactly the same crime, and complied. He was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life and his ideas were declared by the church itself to be "contrary to the sacred Scriptures," "opposed to the true faith," and "false and absurd in theology and philosophy." To suggest that this was merely a quibble with a bunch of huffy scientists protecting their reputations, and that religion and political oppression played only a minor role, is way off the mark.

That being said, of course there is a degree of inertia in the scientific community. But that's what makes it so effective. Once an idea has been well supported, there will be some reluctance to replace it with another. Not just any new idea will do. You have to demonstrate that the new idea is worthwhile or better than the old one. This isn't a sign of close-mindedness, but rather a rigorous standard of proof. Scientific communities are extraordinarily open-minded to those who can back up their claims. Galileo was eventually accepted because he could demonstrate his correctness. Einstein was accepted, despite his really weird ideas, because he could back them up. Quantum theory, a supremely weird one, was also accepted because it had evidence on its side. It's no secret what point Dembski was trying to get across with this (in addition to downplaying the church's resistance to Galileo), but the conservatism of scientific communities is certainly open to those who actually have something worthwhile to say.

48%

According to a recent Newsweek poll, 48% of the American population rejects the scientific theory of evolution. Out of 34 countries surveyed, we ranked 33rd. Only Turkey is more averse to the idea.

In related news, Ken Ham is still traveling the country to teach children that man and dinosaurs co-existed just like in the Flintstones: