Politics

After the second Republican presidential debate in which the candidates were asked if they believe in evolution, Mike Huckabee expressed surprise that the question would even be asked. "[i'm] not planning on writing the curriculum for an eighth-grade science book." Does he have a point? In politicians running for high public office (like say, President of the United States), how important are their science stances to how you're likely to vote? Do they trump other issues? Would you elect a President who agreed exactly with your economic beliefs and your stance on the Iraq War and illegal immigration, but didn't (or did, I suppose, if you go that way) believe in gl…

Well..somebody had to start a thread on it... Here's the story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16885997/ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297440,00.html And I completely agree. You cannot get away with beating folks just because you're black and they're white and they jerked your chain, racist or otherwise. Jerking your chain is not illegal, beating people is. Hanging nooses from a tree is not illegal. Beating people is. I don't understand this demonstration and calls to free 6 kids who beat some other kid unconscious. Being racist is not illegal. Practicing racism is also not illegal, depending on the practice. Obviously, denying em…

Let me start by saying that I'm a liberaltarian and thus stand for a limited subset of conservative values. I'm also enamored with Ron Paul and the staunch disconnect he provides with modern (i.e. neo)conservatism. Whatever happened to ideas like: - fiscal responsibility - limited government - personal responsibility - individual liberty - states' rights - isolationism Neoconservatism, at least under Bush, has advocated a policy of: - rampant, fiscally unsound spending - massive expansion of governmental power - governmental responsibility for individual safety - stripping of liberties to promote the safety of the population as a whole - increased fede…

Saw an interesting article on Petraeus and the Iraq Report today: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20657191/site/newsweek/ Among other interesting tidbits, it talks about the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual (FM 4-23) authored by Petraeus, used as the basis for the surge, was largely obsolete by the time we actually got there. Its original focus was on boosting loyalty to the central government, a strategy which proved unteneable. According to one of the coauthors of the manual, Sarah Sewall, director of Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights: Hence the focus on progress in the Anbar province: And that's the sad state of affairs…

has been proposed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6990482.stm I`ll see if I can find out what these 7 points are, but at face value it seems like a great idea. this is an interesting transcript also: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmsctech/uc747-i/uc74702.htm

Religion and politics may intersect at any time, this is a given. For those of you who wish to discuss a religious matter in the politics forum, and for whatever reason can't possibly wait a few days for the launch of our new religion sister site, here is an attempt to clarify the position. We are not interested in jumping at the throat of each and every post that mentions religion. What we don't want are discussions that revolve around religious matters. Clarification: religious discussion per se is no longer considered appropiate or desirable content for Science Forums dot Net. Debating theistic impacts on non-theistic topics is fine. If you are start…

Hillary Clinton introduced her new healthcare plan this week, which would cost $110 billion/yr and be funded by the removal of Bush tax cuts. While this does represent a huge increase in spending, it would cover the main part of the gap that currently exists for Americans, helping with situations that aren't covered by CORBA (when departing a company) and offering government healthcare programs to those not currently able to afford coverage. The program is similar to that used in Massachusetts, which was brought in under governor Mitt Romney. But Romney calls the new Clinton plan "socialized medicine" and his people are saying that what's right for Massachusetts i…

"AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil. In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies. However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says. Greenspan, 81, is understood to believ…

Most of my life I considered myself part of the liberal movement. It was only over the past few years that I decided to go against them. It has to do with the original positive charter having become very regressive. I am not a conservative, by try to stay sort of in the middle. Back in the 1960's and early 1970's the liberals were part of the "love generation". They actually set the ethical standards higher. Let me give one example. Back then divorce was still quite rare. But there were some women in very difficult situations, due to abusive husbands. But there was a social stigmatism against divorce. It was not just their own self that felt social shame, but the sha…

"The right" paints her as "a sharp turn to the left" "The left" sees her as one of the most moderate candidates in the pack According to a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey, Clinton is viewed by Democrats as politically liberal by 33% and seen as moderate by 45%, which paints her just a bit more centrist than Obama, who is viewed as politically liberal by 34% and moderate by 39%. When the same survey includes all voters, the situation reverses: 53% of American voters believe she's liberal while 29% consider moderate, compared to 42% of all voters see Illinois Senator Barack Obama as politically liberal while 41% say the same about former North Carolina Senator J…

We used to have it, and it would be nice to have it again. The Office of Technology Assessment was disbanded more than a decade ago. "It's not enough to bitch about anti-science when it happens, the root of our problems stems from a government which no longer has a sound, non-partisan scientific body to guide debate. Let's ask congress to re-insert their brain, and refund the OTA." http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2007/09/bring_back_the_ota_bring_back.php I think part of the US government's global warming denialism (and denialism on other topics, too) that has gone on in that span would have been far more difficult if there had been a non-partisan OTA in …

This might sound stupid but what are the benifits of taking rights away from homosexual couples that are married? I've always wondered (not that I dislike gays or anything). Edit: Is benifits spelled wrong? Because, to me, it just doesnt look right.

Yesterday I called in to a local conservative radio show here in town and found myself on the business end of a radio talk show host's rage. It was about Ron Paul's exchange with Huckabee during the republican debates, that seemed to wake everyone up from the yawn fest it was until that point. Apparently, many republicans, if not virtually all of them, feel we have a "moral obligation" to come to the defense of nations being attacked by an aggressor, or what have you. I don't agree. I asked what was so noble about forcing my sons to go fight for their moral code? Why is it that they feel they have a moral obligation to send other people's sons and dau…

We all know that the children are the future. Literally, they will one day be in charge of the government. If America continues its current path, it will be ruled by obese morons. The education standards are ridiculous(you don't even have to complete Algebra 1 to graduate High School). We still have people trying to get Creationism into the schools. Why is America's school system so lacking in comparison to those of most of the other developed world? America's children are becoming fatter and fatter and the schools are doing nothing to help. In fact, they are a big part of the problem. The government provides school lunches that they pretend are nutritious, but are in…

Speaking on Islamic extremist terrorism, I just about pulled my freaking hair out last night watching one conservative talk show idiot after another bash Ron Paul about his 9/11 "blowback" comments. They are delusional. I'm convinced. http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/15/ron-paul-vs-giuliani-on-the-root-causes-of-terrorism/ Now, the Hannity response (sorry I couldn't find any quotes) was along the lines of 'Ron Paul is a nutcase to say america asked for 9/11' - which is NOT what he said. And the ever popular 'No, Ron Paul is wrong because america is a great country that has done good things in the middle east' - which is NOT a point on why they…

I've come to the conclusion this past week that I was wrong in predicting that we will depart prior to the 2008 presidential election. My basis for that earlier prediction was the fact that neither party wants Iraq to hang over the election. The Republicans don't want it because it's seen as their mess. The Democrats don't want it because they don't want the long-term "loser" baggage that comes with victory on this issue. But what I didn't realize is that both parties would find a way to take Iraq off the table without actually bringing the troops home. Listen between the lines of this coming week's rhetoric (amid the circus of General Petraeus's testimony) and …

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427730/?GT1=10357 According to this article, a pilot and a few crew members were fired for carrying nukes in their B-52 bomber over several states. They were supposed to remove the bombs before hand, but they did not and they flew off. As it turns out, nobody knew why they were mounted in the first place, especially since

I'm not an American so I know less about the US's motives for support Israel than actual Americans. Please don't take this as a belligerent question. I'd honestly like to know.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6760509 Phosgene from Iraq found in UN office Wonder if there are any nukes in New York?

Well, this is all over the news at this point so I'm not really sure posting an article is relevant. My question is will this finally undo the Congressional logjam regarding investigating Bush? Is Gonzales's resignation in addition to Rove's resignation tantamount to the two abandoning a sinking ship? Were Powell and Ashcroft just ahead of the curve?

Whether one considers the equation money equals power right or wrong it is sort of a fact of modern cultural life. Based on this observation it gives insight as to why govenment is so inefficient relative to the private sector. In the private sector, if one wish to achieve power with money they need to figure out a way to make money. They have to provide goods or services than will make them money. The more money they make the more power they achieve. The equation sort of implies goods and services equal money and money equals power. In the govenment their money comes from taxes. They create money by providing the good and service called higher taxes. If someone went…

I keep seeing AT&T in the media and some buildings. Last I remember, they tried creating a monopoly in the 1990s. What do you think its current agenda is?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Turkey.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin Abdullah Gul, currently Turkey's foreign minister and devout adherent to conservative Islam, has won the election to become Turkey's new President, a post traditionally held by a secularist. The Prime Minister is also an Islamicist. This is potentially very significant internationally because of Turkey's unique and delicate position. Strict secularist and Islamicist factions are of roughly equal strength, and it is a country that is both European and Middle Eastern in culture. It has a long history of ethnic and religious persecution, but in recent years there have been huge reforms. …

With the icecaps melting at an unprecedented rate, the Arctic Ocean and lands north are suddenly not looking quite so useless as they were before. Soon there will be fully navigable sea routes north of Russia and Canada, potentially cutting thousands of miles off of many shipping routes. Glacier-locked islands are now potential ports as whole new coastlines appear, and vast natural resources, including a whole lot of oil, will soon be accessible. While some are still insisting global warming is some kind of elaborate hoax, an international power struggle between governments who do take it seriously is already beginning. Canada and Denmark are involved in bitter terri…

So, was anyone else appalled by Bush's shaky grasp on history and his attempts to use one of the bloodiest conflicts in which the US was engaged in recent history to push his Iraq agenda? Iraq is a situation where there are no good choices. Staying or leaving both entail profound negative consequences which must be factored into any decision. Bush and the partisan hacks who support the war continue to drum up the dire negative consequences of a withdrawal, completely glossing over the dire negative consequences of remaining. But Bush has taken a conflict he willfully skirted (while somehow Kerry, a decorated veteran, managed to take the heat on Vietnam) and used…