Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
mikethemadbiologist
Posts by this author
February 29, 2008
One piece of infection control legislation moving (slowly) through Congress is the Healthy Hospitals Act, H.R. 1174 (it's so slow that it's, erm, an act of 2007). H.R. 1174 would amend "the Social Security Act to require public reporting of health care-associated infections data by hospitals and…
February 28, 2008
Hilzoy discusses the ceasefire between the brutal Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government. Read it and weep--in a good way.
February 28, 2008
I believe I did. And on cue, a bigot steps right up (italics mine):
An evangelical chaplain who leads Bible studies for California lawmakers says God is disgusted with a rival fellowship group that includes people of all faiths.
"Although they are pleasant men in their personal demeanor, their…
February 28, 2008
I shall destroy all blogs!! I look like this. Really.
Over at Bayblab, there's a jeremiad about how we at ScienceBlogs are destroying science blogging. We're also money grubbing whores--because that $2-4 a day goes really far. I don't get paid that little at my day job.
Even back at the old…
February 27, 2008
In response to this post about scientist-turned-congressional candidate Bill Foster, Renaisauce writes:
I completely agree. More scientists should be running for office, and they should be winning, especially over career politicians. Then again, if all the scientists went into politics, then there…
February 27, 2008
And that includes the pets. Since I saw the 'TV version' while at the gym yesterday, that spurred me to get around to discussing this article about the transmission of E. coli within families.
In the article, the authors sampled at least seven isolates* of E. coli from 152 people and 76 pets, and…
February 26, 2008
I think Amanda's take on Amy Sullivan's denigration of the term pro-choice is pretty dead on. But something else about that interview bothered me, and it was Sullivan's need for religious validation from political figures and parties. In the interview, Sullivan says:
When you write off Catholics…
February 26, 2008
Having just finished Thomas Geoghan's See You in Court: How the Right Made America a Lawsuit Nation, I can't recommend it highly enough. In it, Geoghan makes an interesting claim: the rise of torts--which he admits is not desirable--is the last resort of a society that has abandoned contracts and…
February 25, 2008
And shifts much of the other aid packages over to grants:
Brown University is eliminating tuition for students whose parents earn less than $60,000, after decisions by fellow Ivy League universities to bolster financial aid as their endowments grow.
The university, in Providence, R.I., said on…
February 25, 2008
This is really cool: a building that is not only environmentally friendy (low energy use, low impact building materials, passive heating and cooling, and so on), but also comes with its own hydroponic garden system.
What's neat is that this isn't vaporware--China is in the process of building a…
February 24, 2008
So, I received this award from skippy, with the stipulation that I award ten other bloggers with the coveted E. After two days of consideration, which gave others the chance to award the oodles of bloggers I wanted give the E to, I am left with a list of ten. So, in no particular order, here…
February 24, 2008
A while back I wrote about how the Office of Human Research Protection (OHRP) had blocked the implementation of a checklist for ICUs that would most likely prevent roughly 20,000 deaths from infectious disease annually. ScienceBlogling Revere reports that the OHRP has reversed its decision (…
February 23, 2008
A very quick thought about Oliver Willis' observation that African-American turnout will likely be very high in the Democratic Texas primary (also see Amanda and Sonia).
One of the things that did Tom DeLay in was excessive gerrymandering (gerrymandering is where voting districts are shaped in such…
February 23, 2008
...let's elect more scientists to office. A good place to start would be physicist and congressional candidate Bill Foster, one of the developers of the Irving-Michigan-Brookhaven proton decay detector. Darksyde has a good description of Foster's research. Go here to find out more about Foster.
February 22, 2008
In response to my post about the ludicrous rightwing charge that Obama is a result of a Communist interracial breeding plot, Graculus writes:
I understand that Barack Obama has a black child.
Heh.
(It's reference to the sliming of McCain by Bush in 2000, who had operatives spread rumors that McCain…
February 22, 2008
I think Republicans want to be cast as cartoon villains. In California, Republicans have twice prevented a Democratic measure (supported by Republican governor Schwarzenegger) that would fix a loophole that allows yacht owners to avoid paying their sales tax.
Really. Keep in mind this isn't an…
February 21, 2008
...because then it's either Huckabee or Romney. And both of those guys scare me. I have no idea if Porkgate is even a real scandal, but, if you're a Democrat, you want to run against McCain. I realize that's contrary to the conventional wisdom (which, remember, decreed that McCain's candidacy…
February 21, 2008
According to Boston's The Weekly Dig, Massachusetts is casting about for a new state seal. The current one definitely needs improvement:
It's one of the oldest symbols in the US. That may be part of the problem; many think it's outdated. On Wednesday, the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural…
February 20, 2008
By way of maha (and also Roger Ailes the Good), I came across this screed from the conservative National Review's website (italics mine):
... Obama and I are roughly the same age. I grew up in liberal circles in New York City--a place to which people who wished to rebel against their upbringings…
February 20, 2008
Tristero came up with a list of thirteen things that the rightwing media does to craft its message. I've 'repurposed' and changed them for creationists. Here's the list with some commentary:
1. Highlight a quote from the opponent out of context from a speech or interview. (unchanged from…
February 19, 2008
A lot of my fellow ScienceBloglings have written about the attempts in many Floridian municipalities to weaken biology education, so I won't waste bandwidth revisiting that here. But what amazed when I read this article about Floridian voters' views of evolution was the response to the question "…
February 18, 2008
...and it's pretty damn good. So I got an email from ScienceBlogling Orac about an autism 'hub' he's putting together, so, having belatedly checked my email, I'm moving this post up.
In the Sunday NY Times, Public Editor Clark Hoyt describes the Times' policy for covering autism-vaccination…
February 18, 2008
Lest the humanities feel neglected, the Republican War on Art keeps chugging along. In Bush's 2009 budget, the arts take massive hits across the board, with the sole exception of much needed maintenance funding of the Smithsonian. But first, by way of the Boston Phoenix, let's look at the most…
February 17, 2008
A couple of weeks ago, I described how the collapse of bond insurers meant that it will be harder and more expensive for state and local governments to float bonds, which means you'll get fewer government services and have to pay higher taxes, mostly property taxes, for them. Well, Bit Shitpile…
February 17, 2008
Sara Robinson continues her assault on the lies surrounding healthcare. One target--'rationed' healthcare.
We'll have rationed care
Don't look now: but America does ration care. And it does it in the most capricious, draconian, and often dishonest way possible.
Mostly, the US system rations care…
February 16, 2008
I agree with ScienceBlogling Sandra: many biologists need to know SQL. She has some very helpful links if you don't know much (or anything) about SQL.
February 16, 2008
The NY Times asks about Peter Peterson, "Can the co-founder of the Blackstone Group who has scored riches from a controversial tax break emerge as a credible voice in favor of fiscal constraint in Washington?" Of course, he can. He just has to be clever about what he means by "fiscal constraint…
February 15, 2008
I've criticized Democratic Congressman Reyes before, so it's worth noting when he gets something right. Here's a letter Reyes wrote to Little Lord Pontchartrain:
Dear Mr. President:
The Preamble to our Constitution states that one of our highest duties as public officials is to "provide for the…