Monthly Archives: May 2007

U.S. Primary Education: Maybe the Kids Are Alright?

Posted on May 24, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Ordinarily, I would dismiss someone who thinks that the K-12 educational system is the U.S. is good as a lunatic because ‘everyone knows’ that our primary educational sucks. Then I think about the conventional wisdom that Social Security is DOOMED, and I realize that maybe the conventional wisdom about education is wrong. Gerald Bracey has an interesting post about U.S. education.
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Posted in Education, Social Security | 25 Comments

Pandas or Wombats?

Posted on May 22, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

I’m giving a presentation today while I’m at ASM, and I’m using a picture of a wombat (one of the topics in the talk is E. coli from Australian mammals). So I have a question for you.
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Posted in Bloggity Blog, E. coli, Humor | 28 Comments

More Social Security Idiocy: the Resolute Pundit Edition

Posted on May 21, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Actually, I’m not just mad at the pundit, but at Senator Obama: he knows his position is intellectually dishonest. If there is a general budget (and debt) problem, why focus exclusively on one successful program, and not other parts of the budget? Shame on them both.
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Posted in Compulsive Centrist Disorder, Democrats, News Media, Social Security | 9 Comments

Some Sunday Links

Posted on May 20, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Here’s a list o’links for you. Science first.
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Posted in Bloggity Blog, Lotsa Links | 2 Comments

The Original Sin of the ‘Christian Right’: Segregation

Posted on May 19, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

In all the recounting of Jerry Falwell’s life, almost all of the focus has been on Falwell’s ‘religiously’ motivated positions. But this ignores Falwell’s first political activity: to defend the system of American apartheid known as segregation. Racism, not abortion or other ‘religious’ issues, was what gave rise to the ‘religious’ right. The embrace of racism is the Christian Right’s original sin.
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Posted in Conservatives, Racism, Religion, The War on Science | 11 Comments

“What Is The Real Beef With The Immigration Bill?”

Posted on May 19, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

So asks Oliver Willis about the Republican base. The Mad Biologist answers: anti-Latino hatred.
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Posted in Conservatives, Immigration, Racism | 10 Comments

The SPLC Writes a Letter to CNN’s Lou Dobbs

Posted on May 18, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

So Lou Dobbs has been making ludicrous statements about leprosy and illegal immigrants, claiming that 7,000 cases have happened in the last few years as a result of illegal immigration. Actually, we have had 7,000 cases of leprosy–over a thirty year period.
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Posted in Fucking Morons, Immigration, Microbiology, Racism, Tolerance | 15 Comments

Officer: To Live Outside the Law, You Must Be Honest

Posted on May 18, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Or at least know what magical brownies can do to you.
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Posted in Drugs, Fucking Morons, Humor | 2 Comments

Enterococci in Drosophila

Posted on May 17, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Biologists have studied the fly Drosophila melanogaster for decades. Given its status as a model organism (perhaps the model organism), one would think figuring out what its microbial fauna is would be a high priority. Yet remarkably little is known about its microbial fauna. Until now.
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Posted in Ecology, Microbiology | Comments Off on Enterococci in Drosophila

Survey: Blogs and Political Information

Posted on May 17, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Researchers at the University of Tennessee have an online survey about blogging and political information. Help these good people out and take the survey.
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Posted in Bloggity Blog | Comments Off on Survey: Blogs and Political Information