Monthly Archives: April 2012

Links 4/23/12

Posted on April 23, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Open sesame: When research is funded by the taxpayer or by charities, the results should be available to all without charge How tiny Estonia stepped out of USSR’s shadow to become an internet titan (why can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 4/23/12

Say Hello to My Little Friend

Posted on April 23, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

No, it’s not a gun. It’s a butterfly from the National Museum of Natural History which has landed on my jacket collar: Here’s a big-ass moth (“big-ass moth” is not a common species name…) Mealtime

Posted in Insects, Museums etc. | Comments Off on Say Hello to My Little Friend

Reading, Republican Brains, and Post-Hoc Fallacies

Posted on April 23, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

If you read the scientific bloggysphere at all, you probably have come across discussion of Chris Mooney’s The Republican Brain. In it, he argues that there are significant cognitive differences–or points along the continuum of ‘normal’–that correspond to conservatives and … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives | 4 Comments

Links 4/22/12

Posted on April 22, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: AnnMaria De Mars, small business founder [on the misnamed Research Works Act] A calculation to see how many cups of coffee you would need to drink in order to kill yourself. Meat eating led to earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 4/22/12

Quote of the Day: The NRA Edition

Posted on April 22, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Because freedom. Or something: “There’s a lot of panic buying when Democrats are in power, and a lot of it is driven by the NRA and the gun press,” said convention exhibitor Steve Johnston, a manager at Graf’s Reloading, a … Continue reading →

Posted in BANG! BANG!, Fucking Morons | 6 Comments

Links 4/21/12

Posted on April 21, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Homeland Security’s ‘Pre-Crime’ Screening Will Never Work (good point about false positives) Did Someone Order an Instant Bridge? It’s the incentive structure, people! Why science reform must come from the granting agencies. Hot spring yields hybrid … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 4/21/12

So How Do We Influence Democrats If We Dutifully Support Them?

Posted on April 21, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Maha argues that claiming there’s no difference between Romney and Obama is stupid: there are differences and they do matter (even if Obama is a Rockefeller Republican, that’s better than someone beholden to the batshitloonitarian theocrats). Having grown up and … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats | 9 Comments

Links 4/20/12

Posted on April 20, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Fence Is Behind an Explosion of Life in a Wild Corner of Hawaii (a similar thing happened in Long Island when fences excluded deer, and the endemic flora thrived in those enclosures) Scientific retractions increasing exponentially … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 2 Comments

The Authoritarian Catechism

Posted on April 20, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Remember back around 2001 – 2002, there was a whole lot of blather about ‘freedom’, which was largely used to intimidate people into giving up their freedoms. Well, David Bromwich has codified our new regime for us: 1. There are … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties | 1 Comment

GOP Rep. Eric Cantor and Why Most Jews Don’t Vote Republican: Their Highly Successful Jewish Outreach Program

Posted on April 20, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Like clockwork, as we near election time, we will be faced with a spate of Republican operatives claiming that this time American Jews will abandon the Democratic Party. And then, again like clockwork, Jewish voters will vote 75-85% Democratic. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Jewish Stuff, Voting | 3 Comments