Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: FBI numbers prove that the 'War on Drugs' is a failure
Wall St. Cheat Sheet: Congressman Alan Grayson talks Fed transparency and missing money
Culture Monster: Glenn Beck and Freedom Works' 9/12 logo based on communist and socialist designs
The New Republic: Wealthcare
Echidne of the Snakes: Guarding our hearts and wallets
Sadly, No!: Quick Question
(For the Princely sum of 50k and your choice of shrinks)
In the mid-1950s a movement sprang up around the country - a mass exodus West and a mass exodus from the cities. The lure of sprawl, unobstructed views and tranquility screamed loudly everywhere. This was all part of the evolution of modern day America.
So much so, that it became the subject of books. One such book was The Exurbanites by AC Spectorsky.
The book was wildly popular in the 1950's as were its sentiments. So CBS Radio, as part of their "CBS Radio Workshop" did a quasi documentary/dramatic presentation on the book.
Narrated by Eric Sevareid and broadcast on March 30, 1956, The Exurbanites sought to answer the questions about the great trek west, the great exodus from the cities.
In retrospect, it's interesting listening - a distant point in our culture when things evolved and changed.
And one day we woke up and it was all different.
The Evolution of Dad trailer, a film by Dana H Glazer
My book chat this week with Andrea Batista Schlesinger really had me thinking about how to raise my kids to honor their curiosity and love to learn and try new things. And I have to admit that most of those characteristics in me were learned from my dad. My mom was my source of comfort and my role model in nurturing, but my dad was the one who told me to crack heads and take names and never be afraid to ask questions and more importantly, to keep asking them until I was satisfied. I learned from a child development book that your relationship with your mother affects how you feel about yourself; your relationship with your father affects how you relate to others. And now I see it with my own kids, and how they look to cues from their daddy and how their eyes light up when they make him laugh or he praises some little bit of something they've worked out. So I want to wish my dad and my hubby a very happy Father's Day and thank them for their roles in raising inquisitive kids. And happy Father's Day to all you daddies out there as well. It is frequently a thankless job, but possibly the best and most important role a man can have.
This Sunday's shows are simply more of the same. I almost suspect the bookers of these shows to be reading C&L and choosing guests that guarantee a good number of snarky posts. How else can you explain Presidential runner-up John McCain on Face the Nation, Fred Thompson on Meet the Press, Lindsay Graham on This Week and Pete Hoekstra on Fox News Sunday? Seriously, with all the problems we're facing in the world, these guys are the best ones to opine? Maybe it's because all the adults who can actually have real ideas to deal with these problems are too busy working.
ABC's "This Week" - Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; former Sens. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Gloria Borger, Bob Woodward, Joe Klein, Tina Brown. Topics: How will this year's health care reform debate be different from 1993? What will be the lasting impact of this past week's protests in Iran? Meter Questions: Will Republicans unite as a bloc to oppose any health care reform bill? YES: 9 NO: 3; Will President Obama's policies be a riper target than his personality for Republican critics? YES: 12 No: 0.
CNN's "State of the Union" - Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Bob Casey, D-Penn, and Richard Lugar, R-Ind; Zbigniew Brzezinski.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" - Diane Sawyer, Bill Keller.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - An in-depth look at the crisis in Iran. What do we know about the man with the REAL power in Iran - the Ayatollah Khamenei? Plus, how technology has altered the power of the people.
"Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and McCain; Reps. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., and Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
So what's catching your eye this morning?
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.
[....]
In one of the cleverest stunts I've heard of in recent times, the young crowd at the massive Bamboozle Fest in New Jersey were treated to a surprise set by a band that has surged in popularity among the scene-haircut set: Journey. Or so they thought.
A surprise four-song set turned out to be by an excellent Journey cover band called Evolution -- but the crowd was in no position to know the difference and all thought they were being given a surprise set by the 70s megastars (and in this writer's opinion, the godfathers of corporate rock, the original Creed, and a band not worthy of a 3-decades-later resurgence... but that's just me.)
Despite my crotchety protestations and snobbery, I have to hand it to the producers of Bamboozle for giving the fans such a surprise, which clearly was well received. Hopefully this won't trigger a full-scale Journey reunion once they see what a gang of imitators from the Isle of Long are capable of.
This is what Reagonomics does to public education...I'm sure that we'll be paying for this dumbing down of the populace for generations to come. PfAW's Right Wing Watch:
Yesterday was the birthday of Lincoln and Darwin, and Virginia GOP chairman Jeff Frederick couldn't pass up the opportunity to go all Cro-Magnon on the father of modern biology.
Frederick obviously put a lot of thought into his assault on evolution and created a foolproof (or so it seemed) plan -- put Darwin up alongside Lincoln and let the people see Darwin for the monster he was.
First he talked about Lincoln; it went haltingly but we got his point:
"Abraham Lincoln is best know (sic), as you all well know, for freeing the slaves by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation affirming in his Gettyburg (sic) Address in 19, I'm sorry, 1863..."
Then on to that bad, bad man:
"Darwin however is best known for the theory of evolution, arguing that men are not only, quote, are only, not, not created, but they are not equal, as some are more evolved... Darwin's theory was used by atheists to explain away the belief in God."[..]
But anyone who's familiar with Frederick knows that this kind of thing is par for the course -- Karen Tumulty captured him in his element last fall:
He climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points — for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon," he said. "That is scary." [...] "And he won't salute the flag," one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, "We don't even know where Senator Obama was really born."
It's pretty clear in which direction Frederick is taking the Virginia GOP. No wonder the party has continued to lose ground under his tenure.
Bush admits something that would have been political suicide four years ago:
WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with the scientific theory of evolution.
In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son.
Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can -- you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
He added, "I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life."
Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true.
"You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,"' Bush said.
This Day in Peace History: On this day in 1859, "British naturalist Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, which explained his theory of evolution. The basis for the theory is natural selection, the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable (genetically based) physical or behavioral traits.
Such changes allow an organism to better adapt to its environment and help it survive and have more offspring.
Evolution is now universally accepted among scientists, and is the organizing principle upon which modern biological and related sciences are based."
Open thread below...
From MSNBC's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Nov. 7, 2008 while discussing Sarah Palin's future, Lawrence O'Donnell slams Pat Buchanan for the GOP embracing ignorance and asks him if he believes in evolution and Buchanan's retorts that if O'Donnell believes he's descended from a monkey he would understand it. When you're losing an argument, resort to insulting the other guy and call him a monkey. Class act there Pat.
This week, Americans were introduced to Wrong-Way McCain. To be sure, it's the same John McCain ("McSame") who would continue the policies of George W. Bush that 80% of Americans believe have put the country on the wrong track. It's also the same "Jukebox John" who has changed his tune 61 times on issues foreign and domestic, including a dizzying 10 times in two weeks back in June. But as he showed repeatedly over the past several days, Wrong-Way McCain is also the Republican presidential nominee who simply can't keep his stories straight.
Whether the result of crass political opportunism, transparent deceit or just plain confusion, on at least 7 occasions this week alone, Wrong Way McCain couldn't remember what he stood for, if anything at all.
As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of "academic freedom," single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees.
The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to "assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories." Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects "including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."
The bill has been opposed by every scientific society that has voiced a position on it, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS CEO Alan Leshner warned that the bill would "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce." Read on...
Jindal is definitely vying for the far right base of the GOP and this move will score big points for him. The rabid right-wing base of the party can't stand McCain, so Jindal might prove to be a good fit for them. As The Huffington Post reports, Jindal has joined the GOP's bold march backwards.
Ben Stein, a former Nixon aide and game-show host, probably best known for his role as a monotone teacher in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” released an anti-evolution documentary recently called, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.” The premise, as I understand it, is that those who reject modern biology struggle professionally in the sciences.
Kevin Drum recently saw the movie, and reported back that towards the end, the documentary veered into the insane: “Stein spends the final half hour wandering around Dachau and telling us outright that his real motivation for attacking evolution isn’t any real flaw in the theory, but his belief that Darwinism leads directly to Nazi-ism, eugenics, atheism, the breakdown of morals, and mass slaughter. Can’t have that, so evolution needs to go too.”
Regrettably, Kevin wasn’t exaggerating. Stein recently chatted with Paul Crouch, Jr. about his film.
Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [i.e. biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.
Crouch: That’s right.
Stein: …Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.
Crouch: Good word, good word.
I vaguely recall the point, not too long ago, when Stein was considered something of a mainstream figure at the intersection of politics and entertainment. He’d show up on Fox News, and then make a cameo on “Married with Children.” He seemed quirky, conservative, and harmless.
And now he’s going on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, telling a crazed televangelist that science kills, and that modern biology led to the Nazi Holocaust. It’s breathtaking.
(blogs.sun) The good news is, Florida, for the first time in its history, will feature the word “evolution” in its state science standards. The bad news is, the reality-based community in the state had to make a compromise in order to get the word in there.
Florida’s State Board of Education has voted to use the term “scientific theory of evolution” in new science standards, the first time the word “evolution” has been included.
Florida’s current standards require the teaching of evolution using code words like “change over time.”
Adding the term “scientific theory” before the term “evolution” was a modified proposal at least one board member called a compromise, not standards proposed originally to the committee. The option to include “scientific theory” was made late last week.
The board narrowly passed the proposed change, voting 4-3, after more than an hour of public comment and additional discussion by the board.
Religious fundamentalists, not surprisingly, wanted to keep the “e” word out altogether, but were willing to accept the compromise, because it emphasized the word “theory.”
It reminds me of one of my biggest creationist pet peeves: they have no idea what a scientific “theory” is.
Ronald Bailey, Reason’s science correspondent, took on an interesting project this week: documenting where every major-party presidential candidate stands on evolutionary biology.
Oddly enough, this has taken on far more political significance this election cycle than the last two. It started back in May, in one of the more memorable debate moments of the year, when John McCain was asked a straightforward question: “Do you believe in evolution?” (After a pregnant pause, McCain said, “Yes.”)
The Politico’s Jim VandeHei opened it up to the stage: “I’m curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not agree, believe in evolution?” The camera didn’t show the 10 candidates for very long, but three would-be presidents raised their hand: Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tom Tancredo. Later, Ron Paul acknowledged that he doesn’t “accept” modern biology, either.
So, where do we stand overall? Dems do pretty well. Republicans, not so much.
Way back in May, in one of the more memorable debate moments of the year, John McCain was asked a straightforward question: “Do you believe in evolution?”
It’s the 21st century and McCain is an educated man, so it should have been an easy one, but he’s a Republican, and he needs to appeal to a far-right base that has little use for modern science — so he hesitated. After a pregnant pause, McCain said, “Yes.”
The Politico’s Jim VandeHei opened it up to the stage: “I’m curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not agree, believe in evolution?” The camera didn’t show the 10 candidates for very long, but three would-be presidents raised their hand: Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tom Tancredo.
As it turns out, though, there was one more evolution-denier on the stage who, for whatever reason, didn’t raise his hand: Ron Paul.
Digby makes the case that we probably shouldn't be surprised.
