Monthly Archives: December 2004

Bernard Kerik, former NY police commissioner (who was on-duty on Sept. 11), has withdrawn his nomination for Director of Homeland Security. The stated reason was that he had ‘nanny issues’; is there any career couple or single parent who ‘outsources’ … Continue reading →

This week is pledge week at PBS (and I encourage everyone to donate, even if it’s a very small amount-politicians want to know how many supporters various stations have). What if commercial TV had to have a pledge week? What … Continue reading →

Tonight, on CBS, Richard Martin had a reasonably good story about the lack of vehicle armor for the soldiers in Iraq. The only bad part was when he answered the rhetorical question, “Why was the army unprepared” [I’m paraphrasing]. He … Continue reading →

NY Times David Brooks is remarkable: he takes one datum, combines it with a lot of supposition unsupported by any data, and winds up with crappy ersatz sociology. Take yesterday’s column “The New Red-Diaper Babies” where he extols the virtues … Continue reading →

At the announcement of his resignation, HHS Secretary Thompson said, “”For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do.” Tommy Boy, I have two explanations … Continue reading →

After getting home tonight, there was a message on the answering machine informing me that a book I had placed on reserve could be picked up. The book is Paradigms Lost (it’s about mathematics and physics–I can’t say much else … Continue reading →

Thomas Friedman seems to be the only major member of punditocracy who gets the role science has played in our economic and political growth: “Think about this. We are facing a mounting crisis in science and engineering education. The generation … Continue reading →

You might have heard about the refusal of the networks to air a TV ad by the United Church of Christ which tastefully points out that they don’t discriminate against homosexuals (unlike certain other denominations). Overwhelmingly, the major networks called … Continue reading →