tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3118844497027335487..comments2024-03-29T00:39:31.629-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Obama on the importance of CuriosityDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-69181418757804139842012-08-25T13:48:58.794-07:002012-08-25T13:48:58.794-07:00"(Indeed, my standard challenge is to name ON..."(Indeed, my standard challenge is to name ONE broad professional caste of intellect and knowledge that is not under attack at Fox"<br /><br />Public Relations. I don't think that invalidates your thesis, because that's a caste of knowledge about how to mislead people, which is Fox's stock in trade. <br /><br />And you can't mislead people effectively if you don't even know the *true* research results on how to mislead people. <br /><br />Interestingly, this is one of several problem which is beginning to afflict the Republican Party as it becomes filled with true believers who have bought the propaganda spread by previous generations of crooked Republicans. But now we have Todd Akin running for Senate and actually admitting what's in the Republican Party platform, on camera!<br /><br />The Lee Atwater and Karl Rove types never intended for the people who believed the propaganda to actually start *running* things, but here they are... it shows what the long-term failure mode of a program based on Big Lies is. Rather interesting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-43261092657927337892012-08-22T13:11:46.108-07:002012-08-22T13:11:46.108-07:00onward
onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13727316930063428602012-08-22T10:50:10.830-07:002012-08-22T10:50:10.830-07:00Democrats inherit Republican calamities then get s...Democrats inherit Republican calamities then get screamed at because Keynsian solutions work slowly. FDR after the catastrophic GOP misrule up to 1933...The mythology of hating Jimmy Carter, who inherited the economic blowback of Vietnam, is simply fabulation. And now Obama.<br /><br />It's like taking your drunken uncle from behind the wheel of the school bus that he ran off the road and sticking him in back where he screams while you wrestle it back on to the road. "You're a terrible driver! We're in a ditch! Let me back (*hic!*) behind the (hic!) wheel!"<br /><br />Robert I do not think that the goppers will obstruct Obama forever and completely and with utterly disciplined and monomaniacal negative-sum determination because he is black.<br /><br />I think that the goppers will obstruct Obama forever and completely and with utterly disciplined and monomaniacal negative-sum determination for a different reason. Because back in the nineties, under Gingrich, they were only 60% insane. <br /><br />Now they are 90%+ stark raving jibbering loony.<br /><br />You are right that ending gerrymandering is key. Blue states are doing it. Red are not. This is not left-right. It is civil war.<br /><br />==<br /><br />And again... I dream of a two party system that is liberals (dems) versus moderate Smithian libertarians (not mad rothbarite/randroids). Shouting <br /><br />"We agree THIS is a problem, and further progress in our great civilization demands that it be addressed. But I think the state/private/corporate mix of practical problem-solving tools should (in this case) include a larger (state/private/corporate) component! And here are my facts and figures to back me up! And a plan with definite metrics and predictions! So there! Now let's negotiate, you (liberal/libertarian) foolish person you!"<br /><br />With fringes of oligarch/royalists, fundies and lefties yammering at the sidelines.<br /><br />That would be politics of gradually maturing adolescents... not idiotic playground bullies.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-60275772973375100002012-08-22T08:49:32.484-07:002012-08-22T08:49:32.484-07:00Curiousity<a href="//www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OFzXaFbxDcM" rel="nofollow">Curiousity</a>Tom Craverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13570100578983177926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42515957851902601592012-08-22T08:10:52.313-07:002012-08-22T08:10:52.313-07:00And now back to Science!
MIT has developed micro-...And now back to Science!<br /><br />MIT <a href="http://www.techhive.com/article/2000331/mit-develops-tiny-ion-thrusters-for-tiny-satellites.html" rel="nofollow">has developed micro-ion thrusters for CubeSats</a>, tiny satellites that are about the size of a Rubik's cube but lack propulsion systems. One possible use for them? Attaching themselves to space debris and slowly pushing them into the Earth's atmosphere - basically little suicide satellites to clean up outer space. =^-^=<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23247011442326743642012-08-22T06:06:58.372-07:002012-08-22T06:06:58.372-07:00Dr. Brin: Yes, and you'll notice that Republic...Dr. Brin: Yes, and you'll notice that Republicans, once they seized control of the House and Senate and were stymied of their attempt at a Constitutional Coup actually rolled up their sleeves and worked with Clinton to enact some needed reforms, such as with Welfare and the like. The result was that the budget deficit started to decline, just a little bit. There was a lot of faux outrage among Republicans over the Monica Lewinsky incident but once they got over themselves they decided to work with him.<br /><br />That won't happen with Obama. So long as they have any method of preventing work being done, they'll sit and shout "nonononono" at the top of their lungs and drag down the country... and then blame Obama and Democrats for this decline. And I make no qualms about it: it's because Obama is black.<br /><br />There is of course a possible out for this: California and Washington have enacted open primaries (if I remember correctly), meaning that Republican politicians from those states tend toward being moderates. They don't have to pander to the Tea Party and the like to get elected. They just need to be one of the two top candidates to win votes in the primary and then win the general election. These are the Republicans that will stand up and say "You're going too far. I'm going to work with Democrats to get some legislation out that works for BOTH sides. And you can't stop me."<br /><br />When this Republican Revolution happens, we'll see the fever break and sanity may begin to return to the Republican party. Though to ensure it remains... we'll need the REST of the nation to enact open primaries.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19083583375311939962012-08-22T02:25:23.275-07:002012-08-22T02:25:23.275-07:00Occurs to me that scientific progress begins with ... Occurs to me that scientific progress begins with a genius, whose concept is expanded by merely brilliant people, either of which can occur in any of the varieties of people, a reborn feudal society built from contemporary "conservatives" seems likely to do poorly with the discovery and development of such talent. Also unlikely to long maintain a dominant position in the world.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70235870942071993862012-08-22T01:58:10.831-07:002012-08-22T01:58:10.831-07:00From the romantic POV of course A Tale of Two Citi...From the romantic POV of course A Tale of Two Cities should run backwards!Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85397099978940826082012-08-22T01:43:45.210-07:002012-08-22T01:43:45.210-07:00"Up to, and including 2011, discretionary spe..."Up to, and including 2011, discretionary spending has been increasing, not decreasing." <br /><br />2010 1,347.2 <br />2011 1,346.2 <br /><br />So in fact it decreased between 2010 and 2011 and I'm pretty sure that you find a further decrease in the 2012 data.<br /><br />Additionally, this table is in current dollars not constant dollars- i.e. it isn't adjusted for inflation.<br /><br />Now if we look at the chart you posted earlier, R&D spending has continued to grow in inflation-adjusted terms even while overall discretionary spending has been down even before adjusting for inflation.<br /><br />As for 2012: while I don't have a lot of time tolook for data this is from the CBO Monthly Budget Review for August 2012:<br /><br />http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43522<br /><br />"Outlays through July totaled $3.0 trillion, $11 billion less than spending in the same period last year. Some of that decrease resulted from shifts in the timing of certain payments; it also reflects changes recorded in the budget for the estimated cost of credit activities in previous years (mainly those of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP). Excluding those revisions, and adjusted for the timing shifts, spending through July was about 1 percent less than outlays in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2011."<br /><br />Again outlays, before adjusting for inflation were down 1% overall. I.e. around 3-4% in inflation adjusted terms.<br /><br />In that context ANY increase in science spending is significant.Ian Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04352147295160200128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64200811826339769712012-08-21T21:52:26.747-07:002012-08-21T21:52:26.747-07:00Alex, I reiterate. We can swap anecdotes and shal...Alex, I reiterate. We can swap anecdotes and shallow assertions...<br /><br />...or ask for whom nearly all the scientists are going to vote. If you can find more than two at an mainstream science department in the US who would touch the GOP with a ten meter pole, I will eat a bug.<br /><br />That metric pre-digests all the assertions and anecdotes about who supports science or not. It is called "expert opinion."<br /><br />Now ask all the othjer smartypants professions. Including the ones that were traditionally very heavily (80%+) republican, like police officers and senior military officers. <br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45325400582064540272012-08-21T21:41:06.837-07:002012-08-21T21:41:06.837-07:00@Ian
Maintaining ANY real growth in spending at a...@Ian<br /><br /><i>Maintaining ANY real growth in spending at a time of major restraint in discretionary spending is an accomplishment in itself.</i><br /><br />From the CBO - look at TableF-3.<br />http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42911<br /><br />Up to, and including 2011, discretionary spending has been increasing, not decreasing. Perhaps that has changed, particularly for FY2013 budget, but there is no evidence that science has been getting extra special funding. <br /><br />Show me some data that shows Obama's strong support for science, because I don't see it.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67483625538741920002012-08-21T21:06:13.376-07:002012-08-21T21:06:13.376-07:00AAAS ScienceInsider has a piece on Ryan and his at...AAAS ScienceInsider has a piece on Ryan and his attitudes to science and funding. <br /><br />http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/08/paul-ryans-record-on-science-and.html<br /><br />It's a mixed bag, with the overall message being that his desired cuts in government spending would be a net -ve for science.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86355571290911887572012-08-21T20:49:39.080-07:002012-08-21T20:49:39.080-07:00er... um... William Jefferson CLinton WAS an Irish...er... um... William Jefferson CLinton WAS an Irish Protestant President.<br /><br />I agree with you in general and I plan to send money to Gary Johnson For President. If the libertarians got above 5% this year, amid a GOP rout, then perhaps things would move.<br /><br />Still, I consider the LP to be crazy too. Just not Murdochian crazy.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90931335848629219182012-08-21T19:16:32.116-07:002012-08-21T19:16:32.116-07:00Hufflepuff Post has an article on four reasons why...Hufflepuff Post has an article <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-trice/gop-scared-ron-paul_b_1814846.html" rel="nofollow">on four reasons why Ron Paul could win the Republican Primary</a>. One of the biggies is that the Machiavellian effort to suppress Ron Paul votes is angering that very vocal voting base which are now thinking of voting for the Libertarian candidate instead of the GOP to teach Republicans a lesson that they need to play nice. Or else.<br /><br />I just figure it's a fun read. Though I do think the GOP needs to have their butts handed to them to teach them a lesson in basic civics and how to be loyal Americans working for the best for this nation... even if it means working with a black Democratic President (and I still hold that if Barry O'Bama was a white Irish Protestant, Republicans wouldn't have any issues with him).<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86393434157396939082012-08-21T17:29:25.727-07:002012-08-21T17:29:25.727-07:00Well, I was thinking it worked as a metaphor for a...Well, I was thinking it worked as a metaphor for all those zombie ideas that keep rising from the dead. Supply-side economics being the most durable.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37350965127885874912012-08-21T17:21:03.107-07:002012-08-21T17:21:03.107-07:00"And eerily enough, the dead aristocrats rise..."And eerily enough, the dead aristocrats rise like zombies"<br /><br />The Koch plan, I'm sure...David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3828412989297468492012-08-21T12:24:36.461-07:002012-08-21T12:24:36.461-07:00sociotard:
"The 21st century America is like...sociotard:<br /><i><br />"The 21st century America is like a reverse French Revolution. The poor and uneducated are fighting to put an unethical Aristocrat in office. A slow reverse Bastille Day as we stuff more and more people into overcrowded prisons to profit the Aristorcracy. The poor are dying, not from a lack of bread, but from an obesity epidemic caused by LITERALLY EATING CAKE."<br /></i><br /><br />That's brilliant! So if we show a movie of "A Tale of Two Cities" but run the film backwards, it will look like American politics today?<br /><br />The mob puts a king back ON the throne.<br /><br />The mob locks people INTO prison and then builds doors and walls around them.<br /><br />And eerily enough, the dead aristocrats rise like zombies.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13948737532835020102012-08-21T12:04:37.782-07:002012-08-21T12:04:37.782-07:00So what you're saying is if it looks like a du...So what you're saying is if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a Republican?<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64260958182330445292012-08-21T11:04:50.769-07:002012-08-21T11:04:50.769-07:00I'm pretty sure Aiken just confused human wome...I'm pretty sure Aiken just confused human women with <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/12/22/ballistic-penises-and-corkscrew-vaginas-the-sexual-battles/" rel="nofollow">female ducks...</a><br /><br />"<i>Many ducks form bonds between males and females that last for a whole mating season. But rival males often violently force themselves onto females....But female ducks have developed countermeasures....</i>"atomsmithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45411320787407548182012-08-21T10:43:55.011-07:002012-08-21T10:43:55.011-07:00An amusing tweet comparing us to the French Revolu...An amusing tweet comparing us to the French Revolution in reverse:<br /><a href="http://i.imgur.com/snbF2.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/snbF2.jpg</a><br /><br />"The 21st century America is like a reverse French Revolution. The poor and uneducated are fighting to put an unethical Aristocrat in office. A slow reverse Bastille Day as we stuff more and more people into overcrowded prisons to profit the Aristorcracy. The poor are dying, not from a lack of bread, but from an obesity epidemic caused by LITERALLY EATING CAKE."sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-89722473534389210552012-08-21T10:30:00.047-07:002012-08-21T10:30:00.047-07:00Obama's personal interest in space related stu...Obama's personal interest in space related stuff and in the private approach to doing it all is a little higher than one might guess from what one sees in his daily activity. He surrounded himself with people to make his administration and the people who deal with space align with him rather well. I know one of them and indirectly know another and they are pretty clear that he does get the argument for privatizing the approach. They are also clear that he likes the subject, but has a bazillion other things to do that take priority. That's why they do what THEY do. He has delegated as a President should.Alfred Differnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58687557486480735442012-08-21T10:25:10.326-07:002012-08-21T10:25:10.326-07:00http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/whycorporations...http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/whycorporations.html<br /><br />Some thoughts on libertarianism and corporate personhood. (I stumbled onto this because I was looking up "Loompanics Books" as an example for a completely different argument elsewhere.)Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51346180669932413012012-08-21T09:24:27.573-07:002012-08-21T09:24:27.573-07:00rewinn,
We're not really in disagreement. I ...rewinn,<br /><br />We're not really in disagreement. I don't care <b>how</b> they reach their beliefs about rape and abortion. But the fact that they would create laws and policies based upon those incorrect, un-scientific beliefs makes them dangerous as legislators. I don't hate them personally for their beliefs--I just want to make sure they are not given power to make laws.<br /><br />I actually want to see Akin stay in the race, and I want Clarie McCaskell to beat him soundly. But my point is that voters shouldn't be mad at him for being mean to girls. They should rather vote against him (and his ilk) because he'd use his gut feelings to justify making bad policy.<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67803239633059535782012-08-21T08:50:02.161-07:002012-08-21T08:50:02.161-07:00Pardon me, lying to the SEC would be the felony. I...Pardon me, lying to the SEC would be the felony. I'm typing under the influence of children.Jonathan S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61033191674520680792012-08-21T08:48:19.513-07:002012-08-21T08:48:19.513-07:00Rewinn, our local paper had a truly astonishing mo...Rewinn, our local paper had a truly astonishing moment of Stupid People Talking Like They Think Smart People Talk - one apologist for Akin tried to say that from a monist perspective, in an epistomological sense, Akin was correct.<br /><br />I'm afraid my reply to him started off being a little intemperate - "You certainly know some big words. Now to work on what those words actually <i>mean</i>..."<br /><br />Re: Romney's tax returns - I think I've said this before, but I'm mostly interested in his returns from 2000 to 2003. When he was criticized for Bain Capital's disassembly of US companies and outsourcing of employees to overseas, Romney's contention was that the incidents in question took place after 2000, and he had retired as Bain's CEO in 1999. However, SEC filings show Romney listed as CEO as late as 2003. That means that either he lied to us (which speaks poorly for his personal integrity, but is really par for the course for politicians), or he lied to the SWEC (which speaks poorly for his personal integrity, and is also a felony). I would really like to know which it is.Jonathan S.noreply@blogger.com