Ahhh...Catholicism

Y'know, Schmidlap had the right idea abandoning this religion. Come to think of it, I'm knee-deep in doing the same thing, too.

Somebody must've been working with Ratzy and playing the old Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood alphabet game. "D", is for dogma and doctrine.

While traveling around Brazil, and *there's* a country come Carnival time that says, "Let's party and then start the most penitent part of the Christian calendar," God's Rottweiler gave us the following gem about politicians and abortion:

But before Benedict even got off his plane in Brazil, he stoked a debate among Catholics who have been arguing whether politicians who approve abortion legislation as well as doctors and nurses who take part in the procedure subject themselves to automatic excommunication under church law.

...

But Lombardi added that politicians who vote in favor of abortion should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Anybody remember what the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry went through when the religious right got their Wurlitzer started?

It's okay to play to play the pedophile shell game. It's okay to be hypocrites. It's even better to lead all kinds of cleansing "In His Name," throughout most of the Middle Ages.

But to have a tolerant, scientific approach about women having reproductive rights and formulating a well thought out opinion that has to do as much with population science and privacy as it does with anything else, they're going to remain stuck in the Dark Ages.

Best of all, Ruu-dee, who stands for really nothing at all, won't even get near this one.

And the band plays on...

The Way Back Machine

GWB, Fall 2000:

I'm worried about over committing our military around the world. I want to be judicious in its use.

Fearless Leader on Tornado Survival

"...a lot of folks had basements here in this part of the world"

Back to normal (for me)

Back and un-jetlagged!

We don't need to torture prisoners--just make them fly long-haul coach.

Can we PLEASE buy France some soap?

VETO

So the Chimp is all excited - he might get to pull out his veto pen again. But remember what he's all excited about - vetoing money for his war. No matter what Congress proposes, unless they give him everything he wants, the way he wants it, he will veto. That's not "leadership", that's being a dictator.

If he won't work with anyone else, ever, then the only possibility is to get rid of him. Most presidents begin to worry about their legacy, but he continues to live in a dangerous world of delusion.

Frankly, if he doesn't want his money, that's fine. Bring the troops home, then.

IMPEACH

Science, students, and activism

One of the most frustrating things for me about the current political landscape is the lack of participation by younger voters (18-24). This is a group of people who will be profoundly affected for years to come by decisions that politicians make, but who have not connected themselves to the political process. Imagine how different the political landscape would be if 18 year olds voted in the same percentages as 70 year olds.

So I decided to try to do what I can to influence my students. My theory is that if they get involved now, they're likelier to stay involved. In the fall semester, I gave them extra credit if they (a) voted and (b) wrote a paper about science and politics. This semester, I made a required part of the course a paper about an issue of public interest that had important connections to science and then to spread the word to some community outside the class. Given the chance to care, the students did an excellent job - they wrote on global warming, stem cell research, banning smoke in public places, the spread of communicative diseases - heck, even the injuries caused by wearing a backpack over one shoulder. They wrote to their senators, the President of the University, letters to the editor, and letters to professional organizations. Their political opinions don't always line up with mine, which is fine - I just want them to think and participate.