Socrates would do what he’ll always be remembered for: hosting a series of dialogues with people who had certain ideas going in, but who were willing to think differently by the time they got up to leave. And there’s the problem: there are damn few of these people in 21st Century America. (more…)
This is not a post on astronomy, but on science generally, and its importance to society.
As suggested in the text at the bottom, though we knew that the Milky Way is a spiral-shaped galaxy, we didn’t know until recently that this spiral disk doesn’t sit flat on the galactic plane.
Perhaps the real import of this discovery is a reminder: that we now know more than we did last month doesn’t invalidate any aspect of astronomy as it existed up to that point; this is simply the way science works. (more…)
This proud member of the “master race” is making a very important, albeit unintentional point about the current state of affairs in America, and it’s not so good, is it?
We can only imagine how the rest of the world regards this country and what it’s become.
If anything good comes from the Trump presidency, it’s very likely to be that nearly every American now follows current events, and politics in particular. The sign in front of the Trinity Baptist Church shown here is evidence that many previously apolitical institutions have decided that sitting on the sidelines at a time of moral crisis is in and of itself an immoral act. (more…)
I used to play softball with a guy who litigated large-scale torts, like airplane crashes due to negligence. At a party one night, I suggested that jury awards were way out of proportion, and that this was driving up costs for everyone. Here is essentially the response he gave me at the time, which I copied from something a current-day reader, Rochelle Doty, posted: (more…)
“I love my dad and don’t want him to die,” said the Texas Republican Congressman’s indie musician daughter Caroline, before blaming the president for a lack of remorse.
I hate to laugh at others’ misfortunes, especially when they’re potentially lethal, but there are too many comically weird aspects to this.
First is the bizarre juxtaposition: you’re an indie musician and your father is Louis Gohmert??? That in and of itself must hurt like a b**ch. (more…)
Here’s a cool thing.
She may be stuck at home in social isolation, but watch Buffy slay several different sorts of wasted energy within her own four walls.
Question: What do these elements have in common: Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, zinc.
Relevance: In a new report released today, A Toxic Relationship: Extreme Coastal Flooding & Superfund Sites, the Union of Concerned Scientists demonstrate how the Trump administration’s sidelining of science would disproportionately put the health of communities of color and low-income communities at risk.
Here’s an article that begins: Objectivity in journalism has come to mean presenting both sides of an argument from a position of neutrality. But not every argument has two sides: some have more, and some statements should not be the subject of argument. (more…)
There really are going to be quite a few heroes made before we get Trump behind us.
The ironic part is that they’ve come places that progressives never could have possibly imagined: ExxonMobil, the FBI, and a slew of admirals and four-star generals.
Hell, I found myself admiring Mitt Romney for voting to convict Trump after he was impeached in the House. Would’ve given long odds against that ever happening.
