Political Science

I haven’t been terribly prolific in my blog writing, but I did keep bookmarking items as I came across them. So in an attempt to clean up my bookmark folder, here is a run down of political science.*

Not the academic field of political science. I’m writing about what happens when politicians let their political ideologies override common sense.

So, in no particular order…

Former Massachusetts Senator and New Hampshire Senatorial candidate Scott Brown can’t seem to remember the research on climate change. In 2012 during the Massachusetts race against Elizabeth Warren, Brown “absolutely” knew that climate change was real and anthropogenic (man made). But now in 2014 in the NH contest, he’s sure that there is no climate change.

Instead of citing the scientific journals, Montana Congressional candidate Ryan Zinke referred to the Wall Street Journal when he declared that climate change is not settled science. On another issue, Zinke thinks that fracking is environmentally friendly.

Rep. Joe Barton is in the Hall of Fame of science deniers. In 2007, Barton shows his vast knowledge of climate by pontificating on the effect on temperature by cloud shapes. “Tall clouds or skinny clouds, short clouds, fat clouds, high clouds, low clouds.” Ignoring the nearly unanimous scientific consensus of climatologists, he opposes any legislation on climate, because "You can't regulate God. Not even the Democratic majority in the U.S. Congress can regulate God."

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe says that climate change is really a harmless act of God.” This came during a debate on unemployment benefits. In a different debate, Inhofe cited a petition that proclaims that greenhouse gases do not cause climate change. Fortunately not everyone elected to the Senate is an idiot. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse noted that the petition includes future Nobel Prize winners, The Spice Girls.

Did you know that it’s all a complete hoax anyway. Rep. Dana Rohrbacher stated

Just so you know, global warming is a total fraud and it is being designed by—what you’ve got is you’ve got liberals who get elected at the local level want state government to do the work and let them make the decisions. Then, at the state level, they want the federal government to do it. And at the federal government, they want to create global government to control all of our lives. That’s what the game plan is. It’s step by step by step, more and bigger control over our lives by higher levels of government. And global warming is that strategy in spades.… Our freedom to make our choices on transportation and everything else? No, that’s gotta be done by a government official who, by the way, probably comes from Nigeria because he’s a UN government official, not a US government official.

So climate change is a hoax perpetrated by a Nigerian. Rohrbacher also thinks that a dramatic change in climate 55 million year was caused by dinosaur farts. 

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology is chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith. Smith doesn’t understand a review of the scientific literature. “The IPCC does not perform science itself and doesn't monitor the climate, but only reviews carefully selected scientific literature.”

Then there’s Lenar Whitney, Louisiana state representative and Congressional candidate. She really thinks the Earth is getting colder and that a ten-year-old-child can disprove climate change with a thermometer. When a Washington Post reporter asked her to back up her claims, “she froze and was unable to cite a single scientist, journal or news source to back up her beliefs.

In Kentucky, state Sen. Brandon Smith was able to disprove the nearly unanimous consensus among climatologists. He knows that “the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody would dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There’s no factories on Mars that I’m aware of.”

Finally, there is Rep. Dan Benishek. “Well, I am a scientist. You know, I believe in peer-reviewed science. But, I don’t see any peer-reviewed science that proves there is man-made catastrophic climate change.” Let’s review his credentials. Benishek graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in biology. Okay. UM is a prestigious university. He went to Wayne State University’s medical school, received his M.D. in 1978, and has worked as surgeon. That’s actually pretty impressive. Except there no evidence he has any experience in climatology or any of the related fields.

What do real scientists say on the matter of climate change? A meta-analysis of the literature found that out of 11,944 articles published between 1991 and 2011, only 0.7% rejected anthropogenic global warming. Among the articles expressing a position on the issue, 97% of researchers in the field - not some ransom petition signed by the Spice Girls - are convinced that humans are a driving force in climate change. Of course, if you'd like to read some of the climatology literature for yourself, you should first visit the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Here’s a quick roll call of other non-scientists who openly ignore the vast research that conclusively shows climate change is happening and is man made.

• Sen. John Boehner
• Gov. Rick Scott
• Sen. Marco Rubio
• Senatorial candidate Joni Ernst
• Gov. Bobby Jindal
• Rep Michael Grimm

And the list will goes on. I wonder what other settled science these morons will dispute.*

*I have so many items bookmarked that I could only deal with climate change here.

Aspartame is Not Made from Poop

CREDIT: NutraSweet

Once during my time as a science education consultant, the fourth grade class was experimenting with yeast. One of the experiments involved putting a burning wooden splint in a test tube containing yeast to demonstrate that the yeast produces carbon dioxide. I told the students that the carbon dioxide was yeast farts.

Now I made sure the children knew I was kidding, and we went on to discuss how the yeast converted sugar into CO2.

When I saw the headline Aspartame is made from bacteria feces, patent confirms, I first thought that some PR person or editor was trying to grab the readers attention and having a little fun at the same time. But after reading this article and others, I realize that the authors and their editors must really think that aspertame comes from bacterial poop.

I can think of only one reasonable response. BULLSHIT.

The above article links to another article that helpfully links to the original patent. In the patent it describes very clearly - it helps to know some biology - how aspertame is produced.

Microbiologists insert a short strand of DNA into a bacterium. This bit of DNA instructs the cell to produce the protein (Asp-Phe)n. This protein consists of the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. The scientists later cut this protein into smaller parts consisting of 2 aspartic acid molecules and 2 phenylalanine molecules and then market this as the artificial sweetener, NustraSweet.

So the scientists are taking advantage of the same cellular processes that your body uses to produce insulin, antibodies, cellular receptors, collagen, and enzymes. So if aspertame is made from bacterial poop then so are you.

When you eat proteins, your body breaks it down into the amino acids that compose the protein. So when you ingest Nutrasweet it breaks down into the the two amino acids. The only people who should not use NutraSweet are those who suffer from the genetic disorder phenylketonuria.  These people lack an enzyme that converts the amino acid phenylalanine into the amino acid tyrosine.

CREDIT: Fiskeren

But does this basic biology stop some from shouting "Danger ! Danger!"? Google "aspartame dangers" and you will come across the name Joseph Mercola. Check out QuackWatch's article on Mercola. 

A scientific statement on the safety of aspartame written by David G. Hattan, Ph.D., of the Division of Health Effects Evaluation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is available from the FDA.

Is a Pesticide a Dietary Supplement?

Those dietary supplements you take have all been shown to do what they claim, right? Plus, they've been shown to be safe to consume, right? No one would market what they know or suspect might be harmful, right?

No, no, and no.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory power over drugs, and drugs are "intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease" and include "articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or function of the body." 

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) essentially forbids  the FDA from acting against manufacturers of dietary supplements. Senators Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (Utah) were the primary sponsors of the DSHEA.

Supplement makers use the following disclaimer:

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

I put this text in the smallest font possible, because that's often how one finds it. Here it is in a more readable font size.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

One supplement provider, Matt Cahill, is going to jail for the death of 17 year old Leta Hole. Sorry, that's incorrect.  He pled guilty for mail fraud and "introducing a misbranded drug into commerce." He spent two years in federal prison. 

Chemical Structure of DNP
CREDIT: JaGa

The drug he misbranded was 2,4 Dinitrophenol or DNP.  It is used in the production of pesticides and explosives. It was used as a dieting aid in the 1930s, because it increases metabolic rates, but DNP was quickly recognized for its toxicity.

Just months before beginning his prison term, Cahill started a new company and began selling a steroid he marketed as Superdrol. Superdrol contained a steroid Cahill found in a book. Cahill said that Superdrol was safe and felt qualified to make that determination.

What qualifications does he have?  "I had a scientific background in school, I just don't have a degree." He says he was enrolled for a time in an exercise physiology program at Nassau Community College, but can't remember taking any chemistry classes. The sales of Superdrol provided a tidy income while he was in jail. He later sold Superdrol to another supplier, and Jareem Gunter was banned from NCAA competition and needed a new liver.

Cahill is now facing charges of "introduction and delivery of unapproved drugs into interstate commerce" for Rebound XT.

Never letting federal charges get in his way, Cahill has "tons of great formulas," and has introduced Craze. Craze was listed by bodybuilder.com as New Supplement of the Year in 2012 and a nominee of 2013 Pre-Workout Supplement of the Year, but Craze is currently unavailable from the website's store.

What does Craze have in it? A traditional Chinese medicine called dendrobrium, a type of orchid; however, authorities are questioning whether the ingredients are as natural as claimed. Swedish scientists tested Craze and found substances that are chemically related to amphetamine. 

Meanwhile, the money continues to roll in.

NOTE: The primary source of this post if the USA Today investigation into Matt Cahill. 

For more information on the shame that is the DSHEA, see Quack Watch and Science-Based Medicine.

Let Kids Choose!

CREDIT: Scott Sommerdorf/
Salt Lake Tribune

Utah state Senator Aaron Ormond wants to let kids to choose to go to school. I'll let him speak for himself. The statements below are from The Senate Site, a blog maintained by the Utah State Senate.

Some parents completely disengage themselves from their obligation to oversee and ensure the successful education of their children.

I agree.  In the time I spent consulting with a preschool - 8th grade school, I saw varying degrees of commitment from parents.

As a result, our teachers and schools have been forced to become surrogate parents, expected to do everything from behavioral counseling, to providing adequate nutrition, to teaching sex education, as well as ensuring full college and career readiness.

Before I began my work with children, I never appreciated the responsibility  that teachers took on. Want to see a hero in action? Visit a classroom.

Unfortunately, in this system, teachers rarely receive meaningful support or engagement from parents and occasionally face retaliation when they attempt to hold a child accountable for bad behavior or poor academic performance.

Unfortunately, I've seen this happen, too.

First, we need to restore the expectation that parents are primarily responsible for the educational success of their own children.

Can I get a witness!

That begins with restoring the parental right to decide if and when a child will go to public school. In a country founded on the principles of personal freedom and unalienable rights, no parent should be forced by the government to send their child to school under threat of fines and jail time.

That begins with restoring the parental right to decide if and when a child will go to public school. In a country founded on the principles of personal freedom and unalienable rights, no parent should be forced by the government to send their child to school under threat of fines and jail time.

Oh. Irresponsible parents can then choose not to educate the children.

Utah’s constitution requires that we provide the opportunity for a free public education to every child. But public education is not free—it costs taxpayers billions each year.

Wait until he sees the cost of an uneducated child.

We should take a close look at repealing compulsory education.

And we have a new candidate for Stupid Politician of the Year.

The New University of California Will Have No Faculty

California Assemblyman Scott Will of Santa Clarita introduced AB 1306, a bill that would create the New University of California.  What's new about this institution?  No faculty.

That's right, no professors to teach the students.  The bill states 

The New University of California shall provide no instruction, but shall issue college credit and baccalaureate and associate degrees to any person capable of passing examinations.

Students will just gain the knowledge and skills on their own and then pay the New University to take the final exam and receive academic credit. 

Students - just think.  No homework, no papers, no labs, no group projects, no tests except for the final, no all-nighters, no falling asleep in class, no professors droning on, no problems finding open seats in classes,…

CREDIT: The University of California Los Angeles

Who writes and proctors the exams if there're no professors?  The New University will buy them from "qualified entities" who will also give the exams.

Who would drive over a bridge designed and built by civil engineers alumni of the New University? If this idea is so wonderful, why restrict it to associate and baccalaureate degrees?  Who wouldn't see a physician who earned their M.D. from a medical school at the New University? 

Assemblyman Wilk to his credit does realize that even if there's no faculty, the New University does require eleven trustees and a chancellor.  This chancellor will be "authorized to employ and fix the salaries of, employees to assist him or her in carrying out the functions of the university."  How many administrators does it take to run a university that has no campus, no faculty, and no buildings?  Probably more than we can imagine.

The problem of access to higher education has a simpler solution that the ones proposed by Wilk and Darrell Steinberg.*  Invest in the existing systems: the Universities of California, the California State Universities, and the California Community Colleges.

* Steinberg introduced AB 520 that will require the state's colleges and universities to accept credits earned in Massive Open Online Courses. 

Kansas to Teach Evidence Against Germ and Atomic Theory

Remember Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister?  They were two of the scientists responsible for the acceptance of germ theory - the theory that some infectious diseases were caused by microorganisms and controversial before the 19th century and the scientific evidence in its favor,

Remember Antoine Lavoisier, John Dalton, Robert Brown, J.J. Thompson, and Ernst Rutherford? These were some of the chemists and physicists responsive for demonstrating the reality of the atom and its subatomic constituents. Another example where the evidence conclusively pointed toward the existence of these once hypothesized particles.

CREDIT: University of Kansas

Now thanks to the Kansas House Education Committee, students will have to review not only the germ theory, but the competing miasma theory of disease.  Students will have to consider the counter evidence to the atomic theory presented by alchemy and the Classical Greek science of the four elements (air, fire, water, earth).

What does the K stand for in KU and K-State?  One day, it won't be knowledge.

CREDIT: Kansas State University

When Politicians are Smart

New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt is my hero this week.  This past Tuesday, he introduced House Resolution 41.  

Official Portrait

Expressing support for designation of February 12, 2013, as Darwin Day and recognizing the importance of science in the betterment of humanity.

Whereas Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by the mechanism of natural selection, together with the monumental amount of scientific evidence he compiled to support it, provides humanity with a logical and intellectually compelling explanation for the diversity of life on Earth;

Whereas the validity of Darwin’s theory of evolution by nat- ural selection is further strongly supported by the mod- ern understanding of the science of genetics;

Whereas it has been the human curiosity and ingenuity exem- plified by Darwin that has promoted new scientific dis- coveries that have helped humanity solve many problems and improve living conditions;

Whereas the advancement of science must be protected from those unconcerned with the adverse impacts of global warming and climate change;

Whereas the teaching of creationism in some public schools compromises the scientific and academic integrity of the United States education systems;

Whereas Charles Darwin is a worthy symbol of scientific ad- vancement on which to focus and around which to build a global celebration of science and humanity intended to promote a common bond among all of Earth’s peoples; and

Whereas February 12, 2013, is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin in 1809 and would be an appropriate date to designate as Darwin Day: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) supports the designation of Darwin Day;

and

(2) recognizes Charles Darwin as a worthy symbol on which to celebrate the achievements of reason, science, and the advancement of human knowledge.

Now for the bad news.  H. Res. 41 has been referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.   Congressmen Lamar Smith, James Sensenbrenner, Paul Broun, Mo Brooks, and Dana Rohrabacher all serve on this committee.  You may remember them from Election Year Science.

CREDIT: Richard Milner Archive

(sigh) I'm not hopeful.

Did Astronauts Really Land on the Moon?

CREDIT: marema/Shutterstock.com

I cannot for the life of me understand how people come to believe in the wildest of conspiracy speculations*.  I include here not only the moon landing denialists, but also the 9/11 truthers, the birthers, the grassy knoll-ers, Area 51-ers, and all the rest.

In episode 104, the Mythbusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, debunked the ideas that the shadows are all wrong, the U.S. flag was waving in a breeze, footprints can't be made in the vacuum of space, and the film was slowed down to simulate the moon's gravity.

I came across this interesting video of writer/director S.G. Collins.  Collins comes at this false notion from the perspective of a director.  

* I refuse to use the term 'conspiracy theory.'  As a scientist, the word theory holds a special place. From the National Academy of Sciences:

The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Many scientific theories are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them substantially. For example, no new evidence will demonstrate that the Earth does not orbit around the sun (heliocentric theory), or that living things are not made of cells (cell theory), that matter is not composed of atoms, or that the surface of the Earth is not divided into solid plates that have moved over geological timescales (the theory of plate tectonics)...One of the most useful properties of scientific theories is that they can be used to make predictions about natural events or phenomena that have not yet been observed.

Earth Rise, 24 December 1968. CREDIT: Bill Anders, Apollo 8 crew  member

The D Word

CREDIT: senate.la.gov/Walsworth/

Dumb is a word that I try hard not to use.  To me, it always seemed to have a bit of playground cruelty to it.  It's a word that kids used when they really wanted to be mean, although maybe today's youth have graduated to more colorful language.

That being said, Louisiana state senator Mike Walsworth is D-U-M-B, dumb.  The video below was taken during testimony involving Senate Bill 374 that would repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act.

This anti-science law seems rather innocuous.  It states that the state board of education will allow and assist school districts 

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 being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.

Notice how it singles out the politically controversial topics of evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.  Jerry Coyne, professor of biology at the University of Chicago, sarcastically noted,

Yep, we don’t need more critical thinking in areas like physics, chemistry, or medicine—just human cloning, evolution, and global warming.

The attempt to repeal the law never made it out of committee.

But I digress.  Back to the dumb state senator.

During testimony on SB 374, the senator asked Ms. Reeves, a retired science teacher with 31 years of experience, if there were any experiments that demonstrated evolution.  She began describing Richard Lenski's E. coli Long-Term Experimental Evolution Project.  He interrupts her and asks,

They evolve into a person?

Remember the old saw about there being no dumb questions?  This is a dumb question.  Does Senator Dumb-Dumb really think that biological theory predicts that humans evolved from E. coli?  Does he think that biological theory predicts that this occurred over a few generations?  Does he even begin to comprehend what 4.5 billion years is?

Yet there is some good news from Louisiana.  Zach Kopplin, a 17 year-old student, is leading the fight to repeal the idiocy. The Orleans Parish school board prohibited the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, and the Baton Rouge Advocate asked why the Loch Ness monster, presented as evidence against evolution, is part of the science curriculum.  The paper went on to call for the education department to

open its eyes to this kind of educational malpractice before children’s futures are endangered.

Education. It prevents the dumb.

Use the Force, Luke

The United States will not be building a Death Star.

Death Star from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). CREDIT: Lucas Films

On November 14, 2012, John D. from Longmont, CO petitioned the White House to "secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016."  The appeal suggests that "by focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense." 

The White House has responded.  While the Obama administration is supportive of the petitioners desire for job creation and maintaining a strong national defense, the government will not be allocating scarce research and development funds on a Death Star for three reasons.

Reason #1:

The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.

Reason #2:

The Administration does not support blowing up planets.

Reason #3 and the absolute best reason for not building this weapon of mass destruction:

Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

Election Year Science

In election years, science issues rarely rise in importance to the level of ones involving the economy, foreign policy, and the military, but in my not-so-humble opinion, this is dangerous; science affects all aspects of our lives.  Climate change may not influence the way you live your life today, but your children and grandchildren will know a world greatly changed by our dependence on fossil fuels.

I care how you vote, though I care more that you vote.  We need to be responsible for the direction this country takes.  So when you are in the voting booth on Nov. 6, go ahead and vote your self-interests, but also vote for the interests of those we will leave behind.

With that said, let's look at some of our elected representatives and their wrong views on science.  I do not identify these politicians by their party affiliations, because that's not necessarily the issue, even if there is a correlation.

Rep. Todd Akin from Missouri:

 It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.  

 I don’t see [evolution] as even a matter of science because I don’t know that you can prove one or the other. That’s one of those things. We can talk about theology and all of those other things but I’m basically concerned about, you’ve got a choice between Claire McCaskill and myself. My job is to make the thing there. If we want to do theoretical stuff, we can do that, but I think I better stay on topic. 

Well, I’ve taken a look at both sides of the thing. And it seems to me that evolution takes a tremendous amount of faith.  To have all of a sudden all of the different things that have to be lined up, to create something as sophisticated as life, it takes a lot of faith. I don’t see it as even as a matter of science, because I don’t know if you can prove one or the other.

Rep. Paul Broun from Alabama:

All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell.

Gov. Rick Perry from Texas:

[Evolution is] a theory that's out there. It's got some gaps in it. 

Rep. Mo Brooks from Alabama:

The last 4 or 5 years*, have they been cooler or warmer?

We're* being asked to undermine America's economy based on this guesswork speculation.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota: 

The science* indicates that human activity is not the cause of all this global warming. And that in fact, nature is the cause, with solar flares, etc. 

Rep. Joe Barton from Texas: 

Global warming* is 'unequivocal'? It's just flat not true! 

Sen. James Inhofe from Oklahoma:

This* 97% [of climate scientists accepting human-caused global warming], that doesn't mean anything. I named literally thousands of scientists on the floor...and these were top people. 

The claim* that global warming is caused by man-made emissions is simply untrue and not based on sound science. 

C02* does not cause catastrophic disasters-actually it would be benefitical to our environment and our economy.

The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous. 

Rep. Ben Quayle from Arizona: 

Our planet has warmed and cooled since the beginning of time. 

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher from California: 

Is there* some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rain forests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases? Or would people be supportive of cutting down older trees in order to plant younger trees as a means to prevent this disaster from happening?

Rep. Ron Paul from Texas: 

You notice* they don’t call it global warming anymore. It’s weather control.

There is* no consensus in the scientific community that global warming is getting worse or that it is manmade.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin:

Our rovers* on Mars have indicated that there has been a slight warming in the atmosphere of Mars and that certainly was not caused by the internal combustion engine.

I personally* believe that the solar flares are more responsible for climatic cycles than anything that human beings do.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney:

My view* is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet.

I exhale* carbon dioxide. I don’t want those guys following me around with a meter to see if I’m breathing too hard.

I'll end this with the following comment made by Rep. Ed Markey from Massachusetts during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce:

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to a bill that overturns the scientific finding that pollution is harming our people and our planet. 

However, I won’t rise physically, because I’m worried that Republicans will overturn the law of gravity, sending us floating around the room. 

I won’t call for the sunlight of additional hearings, for fear that Republicans might excommunicate the finding that the Earth revolves around the sun. 

Instead, we will embody Newton’s third law of motion and be an equal and opposing force against this attack on science and on laws that will reduce America’s importation of foreign oil. 

This bill will live in the House while simultaneously being dead in the Senate. It will be a legislative Schrödinger’s cat killed by the quantum mechanics of the legislative process! 

Arbitrary rejection of scientific fact will not cause us to rise from our seats today. But with this bill, pollution levels will rise. Oil imports will rise. Temperatures will rise. 

And with that, I yield back the balance of my time. That is, unless a rejection of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity is somewhere in the chair’s amendment pile.

*original sources at http://www.skepticalscience.com/skepticquotes.php

Todd Akin Is An F***ing Idiot

Credit: Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Todd Akin is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.  When asked about abortion in an interview with Fox 2 of St. Louis, he asserted that in cases of "legitimate rape," it's difficult for a woman to become pregnant.

It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. 

What a putz.  

I'd like to know the names of those doctors.  They can't be M.D.s from any accredited medical school.  

Akin attended Worchester Worcester Polytechnic Institute and earned a bachelor's degree in management engineering, and he must have had to take some biology, but he must slept in on the days when reproduction was discussed.

Now upon realizing what he said, he quickly backtracked and said he "misspoke." He didn't misspeak.  He said what he thought he understood, but like many of his ilk, whenever their true thoughts expose them for what they are, they fall back on the time-tested I misspoke.

This moron is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and sits on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.  I feel less safe tonight knowing this jerk has a hand in legislation, but particularly with regard to women's health and science & technology.

Physics Helps Reduce Violence Against Women

More than 300,00 people in Darfur have been killed, and more than 2 million have fled their homes to live in huge refugee camps. Although they receive food aid, ones pressing problem remaining is cooking their food.

As described by Cookstove Projects, 

Due to the size of the IDP camps (some camps have more than 100,000 residents) and the desert-like terrain, wood is increasingly scarce. With deforestation, displaced women must walk up to seven hours to find a single tree, risking assault every step of the way. To avoid danger, some Darfuri women purchase wood from vendors... by selling the very food they need to feed their families. While the tangle of political and ethnic tensions underlying the Darfur conflict may seem beyond resolution, the solution to this one problem is clear: women in Darfur need a better stove.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory physicist Ashok Gadgil and other LBNL scientists went to Darfur in 2005 to see the situation for themselves. As Dr. Gadgil says, “In terms of the physics end of it, of course you want high combustion efficiency, where you’re not left with charcoal and smoke, which is where some of the chemical energy could go,  and you want good heat transfer efficiency, so you’re not just heating the kitchen air but putting the heat into the pot.”

Just this past May, the US Agency for International Development awarded $1.5 million so that these stoves can be distributed in Darfur and Ethiopia.

People Who Lack Critical Thinking Skills

In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, there were some who were so disgusted by the court's judgement that they tweeted. [Credit to BuzzFeed.]

A little education about Canada.

Canada's national health insurance program, often referred to as "Medicare", is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis. Instead of having a single national plan, we have a national program that is composed of 13 interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common features and basic standards of coverage. Framed by the Canada Health Act, the principles governing our health care system are symbols of the underlying Canadian values of equity and solidarity. 

... the system provides access to universal, comprehensive coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services.

The federal government provides funding to the provinces and territories for health care services through fiscal transfers. 

Texas Politicians Oppose Critical Thinking

From the 2102 Republican Party of Texas - Report of the Platform Committee:

Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. 

They oppose critical thinking skills?  Really? 

Good Bye University

This is a YouTube video of a student, ABillyRock, saying goodbye to the University of Utah.  I don't understand her.  She complains that the university "bills itself to be a world-class university," yet she has presumably spent the last four years there.  She derides her Theatre department as "third world class."  She spent four years there despite it being "waste of my time and a waste of my money."  She whines, "I'm so sick of paying for it."

Here's how I see it.  ABillyRock may have wasted her money, but she wasted mine, too.  The University of Utah uses both state and federal taxes to subsidize her education.  She seems that she didn't take advantage of opportunities afforded her nor did she appreciate them. 

I really don't get people of this ilk.  They complain about the American education system all the while being a part of it.  ABillyRock had other choices.  There are plenty of private institutions - why didn't she choose NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, USC, Tufts, or Yale.  All highly rated theatre departments.  Later in the video, she reveals her politics.  Once she did, I wondered why she didn't attend a for-profit institution such as the University of Phoenix.  [For the record, Phoenix don't offer a theatre degree.]

Courtesy of the University of Utah

She goes on to "commiserate with any of you who have ever gone to or are currently attending public university."

"Public education from primary all the way through university - for the most part, in my opinion - is complete bullshit."

"It is a factory turns out statists by the millions."

Did you see/hear that?  Statists.  Simply put, a statist is a believer in a government that has substantial centralized control like a federal style government.  Like the United States of America.

The only people I have ever heard use the term statist are right-wingers.  If I remember my US history courses correctly, we tried a non-federal system.  Remember learning about the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union?  It states "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated." The US's first government was so weak, the founders knew they had to replace it with a much stronger, more centralized, federal one.  I would ask her if she would prefer going back to the confederation, but her history courses were probably a waste of her time, too.

Then we get her philosophy of education.  "I favor how we used to learn trade.  Apprenticeships, that sort of thing.  How you actually learn a trade.  Not sitting in a class hearing about how Karl Marx is Jesus."

She means neither apprenticeships nor trades.  Usually a trade refers to a job requiring expert manual skills.  Examples of trades include electrician, plumbing, and carpentry.  In many trades, aspects of the apprentice program has been replaced by on-the-job training and vocational programs at community colleges or for-profit institutions like DeVry.  Theatre has never been considered a trade; it is an art.

She may be referring to mentoring.  The mentor relationship, an experienced person counseling and training someone new, is important in academia, the arts, and business.   Unfortunately, ABillyRock probably never tried to develop a relationship with one of her professors and so deprived herself of the very thing she desired, a mentor.

"Karl Marx is Jesus." I'll give her the benefit of the doubt here.  I assume somewhere, sometime in her 16 years of public education a teacher explained hyperbole.