Quizes, Science and all that…

Politics:

Barack Obama: supports General Wes Clark.

Hat tip to Bob Sackamento at the Daily Kos.

More Obama Barack Obama has high praise for Kathleen Sebelius. Video is here.

Note: watch how the video appears at the source (clean) and how it screws up. The downloaded video looks fine on my laptop; it is the uploaded video that does that funny stuff about 1 minute into it. I wonder if this is special code?

more about "MyFoxKansasCitySenBarackObamaOne-on.f…", posted with vodpod

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John McCain: he would have voted for the Iraq war even knowing what we know now.

Chalk up another one for John McCain under lessons unlearned:

McCain: US winning in Iraq

By BRIAN SCHEID
Bucks County Courier Times

Sen. John McCain said that he is willing to stake his presidential campaign, as well as his political career, on his support for the war in Iraq.

In an interview with reporters on the back of his campaign bus, the “Straight Talk Express” Monday afternoon, McCain said that even in retrospect he would still have voted to authorize the war, as he did in 2002.

“I think there’s no question,” said the Republican’s likely presidential nominee. “I owe too much to these young people who are serving there to let political considerations interfere with what I know is right.

“I believe the American people, over time, will side with me, but if they don’t I’ll accept that,” he said. “I’d much rather lose a political campaign than lose a war.”

Stubborn, delusional, unwilling to admit error, even with advantage of hindsight. Is it any wonder that two-thirds of Americans are “very concerned” that McCain will indeed govern as the third Bush administration?

Take the Independence Day Government quiz. Hat tip to Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub. I am ashamed to say that I only got 28 of 30 questions correct. That is a poor result for an Obama backer.

Speaking of Millard Fillmore: he is a huge fan of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (link is to Tony Whitson’s blog)

Anti-science law signed by Louisiana’s exorcist Governor

As suggested in a previous post here, there was some speculation that Louisiana’s Governor Bobby Jindal might veto the new anti-science education law since, having studied Biology at Brown University, he could be expected to know the difference between what is, and what is not, the natural science that is practiced, taught, and studied as the science of Biology.

Now that he has signed the law, another aspect of this character is receiving renewed attention. It seems that this Governor believes in exorcism — not only believes, in fact, but has written a published article about his own participation in an exorcism.
Here’s an excerpt:

While Alice and Louise held Susan, her sister continued holding the Bible to her face. Almost taunting the evil spirit that had almost beaten us minutes before, the students dared Susan to read biblical passages. She choked on certain passages and could not finish the sentence “Jesus is Lord.” Over and over, she repeated “Jesus is L..L..LL,” often ending in profanities. In between her futile attempts, Susan pleaded with us to continue trying and often smiled between the grimaces that accompanied her readings of Scripture. Just as suddenly as she went into the trance, Susan suddenly reappeared and claimed “Jesus is Lord.”

Well, it looks like they’ll be onto purging the demon Science now from the public school classrooms of Louisiana!

This is astonishing. I suppose that even the most highly educated among us can be a woo.

Speaking of education: even some atheists don’t understand what “atheism” really means. It doesn’t mean not believing in a certain kind of god, nor does it mean being mad at or refusing to worship one god or another (e. g., some Jews refuse to worship their deity because it didn’t prevent the Holocaust).

Susan Jacoby writes about this. Hat tip to Friendly Atheist.

My guess: some atheists are merely angry with their deity (didn’t stop some disaster or evil), etc. Note also that there is a sizable minority of Christians who believe, well, much as I believe.

For more on Christians who don’t know the Bible, see this article.

There is some good stuff at the Richard Dawkins website.

Is it ok to discriminate against the religious when it comes to employment? Think before you answer. Note: this article refers to the United Kingdom, where there is no separation of church and state.

Did you know that Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin share the same birth date? This article got ripped in the comments, but it is sort of fun.

How a religious scientist accepts science and their faith.

The Big Bang and the inflation of the early universe: Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog apply the “summing over all possible states” theory from quantum mechanics to provide a conjecture which solves this mystery.

July 1 2008; Austin, Texas

Workout notes
I set my alarm for 5 am; I got up at 6:45. Hey, no rush today. But I got in 1 mile at Barton Springs pool (200 meters long) in 36:30. Yes, 10 years ago that was more like 34-35 minutes but this was one of by better swims over the past 3-4 years.

There were lots of triathletes getting out of the pool when I got there; some of the ladies gave me some serious eye-strain!

Then I walked to the Austin Hike and Bike trail (about .4 miles), ran 2 miles (19:30 or so), walked 2.5 miles and then walked .4 miles back. The walking was about 13 minutes per mile. I sweated up a storm.

At first the run didn’t feel good, but then I started to feel good. But, given that I am so early into rebuilding my running, I forced myself to stop at 2 miles.

Politcs

Obama continues to get hammered at places like the Daily Kos. Yes, I am less excited by him now than I was when I was in the “lets win the nomination” mode; I am reminded of how I wish he were a stronger advocate for civil liberties and how I wish he weren’t so cozy with religion in the public sphere.

But he was always open about stuff like this. He never campaigned as a liberal; many of my liberal friends projected their own stuff onto him.

Remember his “those of us in the blue states worship an awesome god” remark?

I backed him, and will continue to do so, because

1. He is smart; out of this world smart.
2. He understands people.
3. He knows that they way to get things done is to get lots of people to take ownership of the project in question, and the way you get them to take ownership is to let them have a hand in building it. The old “here it is, and you are going to like it” stuff just doesn’t work.

But no, he isn’t the liberal that I wish that he were; in terms of positions I am closer to Dennis Kucinich than I am any of the other candidates. But D. K. lacked the goods to “get it done”; BHO has those goods.

So for me, it is either: back someone who will get 60% of 70% of what I agree with, or back someone who will get 0% of 90% of what I agree with.

Republican Hypocrites: swiftboated Kerry, now slam Clark for being honest.

The drive from Pryor to Austin wasn’t that bad this time around. I loved it that my Prius got 51 miles a gallon.

First, some humor. You really can’t make this stuff up. There are computer filters set up that do automatic word conversion; one such filter changes the word “gay” to “homosexual”.

Well, when the sprinter Tyson Gay won the U. S. Olympic Trials 100 meter sprint (running),…you guessed it!

Engage homosexual filter! To people visiting OneNewsNow.com, this was the headline:

Whoops! Beyond looking small and stupid, OneNewsNow.com might have opened itself up to litigation. Perhaps Mr. Gay can sue the AFA for libel if he doesn’t care for a possible misrepresentation of his sexuality.

It’s good to see a reaffirmation of the first law of political web sites: they are only as smart and tolerant as the people who develop them.

I love it when the moronic bigots make themselves look every bit as stupid as they truly are.

Wes Clark

I found out that General Wes Clark is catching heat from the wingnuts because he dared to say that John McCain wasn’t really Presidential material; gee I thought that McCain’s repeated gaffes would have brought that out.

But oh no, the same bunch of hypocrites who was ok with Swift Boating John Kerry are now whining.

Here is what VoteVets are sending around:

General Clark,

We the undersigned thank you for speaking up forcefully and honestly about what it takes to lead this nation, and the kind of judgment we must look for. You were right to say that Senator McCain has not shown good judgment, despite his extraordinary service to America. Just in the past few years:

- Senator McCain’s service and experience, both as a POW and as a Senator apparently hasn’t infused him with a dose of good judgment.

- Senator McCain’s experience hasn’t led him to realize that the war in Iraq and it’s continuance has empowered and emboldened Iran, and destabilized the region.

- Senator McCain’s experience hasn’t caused him to recognize that we’re losing ground in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden is still out there, plotting.

- Senator McCain’s experience didn’t lead him to support the 21st Century GI Bill — he opposed it. It didn’t even make him feel the need to get back to Washington to vote on this — one of the most important veterans’ bills this Congress. He twice skipped votes on the GI Bill, to fundraise.

- Senator McCain’s experience didn’t help him empathize with troops are overstretched and overdeployed, when he voted against the bipartisan Webb-Hagel “Dwell Time Amendment,” which would have given troops as much time at home as in the field.

We all honor Senator McCain?s service, as you said you do. But that does not mean that on matters of security, the military, and veterans that he is beyond reproach. Nor does it mean that his service trumps the poor judgment he has shown in some of the most important issues of our time.

Do not back down, and keep treating the American people like adults who can handle a real, honest, and blunt debate in these important times.
Signed by:
[Your name]

You can find the petition here.

More on this issue here.

The controversy over my colleague General Wesley Clark’s comments on John McCain have generated a lot of media comment, much of it negative. I have known General Clark for many years: we served in the same Army and for the same country. He’s a patriot. So to suppose that somehow Wesley Clark would denigrate John McCain’s service to his country, while praising his bravery during the time that Senator McCain spent in an enemy prison, is absolutely ludicrous. So let’s check the facts.

* Lt Gen Robert G Gard’s diary :: ::
*

On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” General Clark said that he believed John McCain was “untried and untested.” Journalist Bob Schieffer asked him to explain what he meant. How could Clark make such a claim when “you’re talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war? He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He’s been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is un-untested and untried?” And here’s General Clark’s answer:

Because in the matters of national security policy making, it’s a matter of understanding risk. It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn’t held executive responsibility.

As a retired military officer and a soldier who served his country for over thirty years, I can tell you that there’s nothing in what Wes Clark said with which I disagree. He has not only stated the facts, he knows something about them. John McCain was a prisoner of war, an officer who served as a squadron commander, and has been and is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. John McCain can put his service to country up against anyone’s. But General Clark has served also — and with great courage: he was wounded four times in Vietnam — and like John McCain, he has met and seen the enemy.

Is what Wesley Clark said true? Let’s check some other facts: John McCain made claims about progress in security by walking through the streets of Baghdad. But as I recall, he was protected by at least a platoon of American soldiers and helicopters lying overhead. In matters of national security, as General Clark pointed out, “it’s a matter of understanding risk,” and it’s “gauging your opponents;” and it’s also a “matter of being held accountable.”

So I too honor John McCain. And, like General Clark, I acknowledge his sacrifice for his country. But being a prisoner of the Vietnamese and serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee does not automatically qualify one for the position of Commander-in-Chief — understanding risks, gauging your opponents and being held accountable does. We must end this glib obeisance to sacrifice and ask deeper questions: is a man who sings “bomb, bomb, bomb … bomb, bomb Iran” a man who understands risks? Is a man who says that we must keep our troops in Iraq until we achieve an ill-defined “victory” really know how to gauge America’s opponents. If we want to hold people accountable, then let’s stand behind my friend Wes Clark — and hold John McCain accountable for what he’s said.

Oh, and one more thing: today President Bush signed the GI Bill –which Senator Barack Obama has unstintingly supported . The bill will spend $63 billion over ten years for increased college aid for military service members and veterans who served after September 11, 2001. Good judgment?

John McCain opposed it.

Lt. General Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.) is the steering committee chairman of Vets for Obama. Visit their official site or join them on Facebook.