Monthly Archives: July 2012

Privatized ‘Death Panels’: Death Panels Already Exist

Posted on July 15, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Admist all the rightwing hooey about healthcare ‘death panels’, the reality is that we already have panels of bureaucrats making live and death decisions about healthcare. The guidelines for these panels, however, have not been established with the consent of … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | 3 Comments

Links 7/14/12

Posted on July 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Merry Bastille Day! Let’s celebrate with some links. Science: Scientists place 500-million-year-old gene in modern organism Estimating the Purchasing Power of the NIH Grant Your Favorite (Sexy!) Dinosaur Gene-swapping vaccines spawn lethal poultry virus (the headline alone is worth reading–it … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 7/14/12

The Fearless Hunter of Leverett Pond

Posted on July 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

For reasons I can’t explain, I’ve managed to stumble across some amazing wildlife in Boston over the last couple of weeks. Here’s a blue heron (I think) I saw at Leverett Pond, Jamaica Plain (Boston, MA): Sadly, it didn’t seem … Continue reading →

Posted in Aves, Boston | 1 Comment

How the Dismal Science Gets It Wrong: Welcome to the End of the Age of Malthus?

Posted on July 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Dean Baker, following on Robert Skidelsky and Izabella Kaminska, notes something very fundamental about our current economic problems (boldface mine): The most important point to realize is that the problem facing wealthy countries at the moment is not that we … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 3 Comments

Links 7/13/12

Posted on July 13, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Whooping cough outbreaks another thing to thank vaccine conspiracy people for (the fetus fetishists just can’t help themselves) Pheidole aberrans, major and minor workers Apes With Apps: Using tablets and customized keyboards, bonobos can become great … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | Comments Off on Links 7/13/12

Romney: If You’re Poor, It’s “Free Stuff.” If You’re Rich, It’s Job Creation

Posted on July 13, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

So Romney spoke to the NAACP and, unsurprisingly, laid an egg. Afterwards, he then played the ‘those people are lazy card’ by referring to Medicaid and other programs as “free stuff”, followed by “But don’t forget nothing is really free.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Romney | 2 Comments

Republicans to Cities: Drop Dead

Posted on July 13, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

If conservatives who live in fire country want to underfund their fire departments, well, that’s stupid, but one of the joys of a federalist system. But could they please stop fucking with those of us who actually want stuff to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Economics, Transportation, Urban Planning | 3 Comments

Links 7/12/12

Posted on July 12, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: What are oppossums? (must-read) Texas drought, British heat linked to climate change Too many scientists? NASA’s cowardly responses to their #arseniclife FAIL The Mind of the Prodigy (this is why I think a lot of very … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 4 Comments

Accountability: For Public Schools, But Not Conservative Christian Ones

Posted on July 12, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Because one of the unofficial mottos of this blog is that personal responsibility should not be the sole purview of single minority mothers. Despite the blatherings of useful ‘progressive‘ idiots who have never taught a day in their lives, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Education | 1 Comment

A Nation United Under Fear: We Are All “F-ucking Deafies”

Posted on July 12, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

A student returning from the National Association of the Deaf conference in Louisville had this lovely run-in with the TSA: While I was going through the TSA, some of them started laughing in my direction. I thought it might’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Civil Liberties, Transportation | 8 Comments