Made You Think

Sundry random items

I have not posted in so long that I have too many clippings, and they refuse to be tamed.

First, perhaps the most bizarre. The Conglomerate reports that Madison was named the most romantic city in the U.S. As much as I wish this were true, since it would be another reason for my friends Jo and Kris to consider Madison a good option should they return to the states (and especially because I could say, sure, you've left the most romantic city in the world, but you're in the most romantic city in the U.S.!), it's just not true. Don't get me wrong, I like Madison almost as much as the next person, though admittedly not as much as most UW-Madison alums, who seem ga-ga over the place. But for one thing, I don't think it's...mysterious enough to be very romantic. I know, I know, supposedly it has the most restaurants per capita (though I never have found a good study proving that), yada-yada. Take a look at the tourist bureau's website: enough said. Pleasant place, not that romantic.

Second, the Bush administration's new energy policy push, particularly the renewed interest in nuclear power and the proposed nuclear power subsidies. Tentatively, having not explored all of the data, and incompetent to truly understand all of it, I think I support the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, in particular its goal to "form an international partnership to see spent fuel reprocessed in a way that renders the plutonium in it usable for nuclear fuel but not for nuclear weapons." The fast reactor design, if it could be developed safely, seems a sensible way to dispose of much of the nuclear waste we've created already. There have been problems with some of the fast reactors created in the past, but I guess that one still operates in France on a small scale, mainly investigating "transmutation of nuclear waste" (according to Google).

In other environmental news, South Africa has decided not to kill elephants, for now. On this subject, I must speak up for my son, who would surely say, "No! No hurting those elephants. Elephants are my favorite! They have big flappy ears and they have long trunks!"

Speaking of killing no-longer-so-endangered, but now inconvenient, animals, I'm not sure whatever happened with Wisconsin's controversial, and perhaps illegal, wolf-killing policy. Meanwhile, fear of the leaping carp grows here in the Great Lakes region.

I can't seem to get worked up about impending drought in France and Spain.

Still, though, have you heard that this is the warmest year in 1200 years, according to a recent study? Greenland's glaciers have heard, and are "melting and on the move." And in view of the overall recent success of the environmental movement, I think it's good news that the evangelical Christians have joined in on the side of the environment in the global warming...debate? Is it still a debate? Situation.

In a similarly encouraging sign, some religious leaders are supporting pro-science arguments in the political fights over whether to teach the theory of evolution in U.S. schools. Even the new Pope says that science and faith can coexist, though admittedly his position is somewhat vague.

In politics, less encouraging news. The anti-homosexual movement in the U.S. continues, even grows, with activists now attacking teaching about homosexuality in sex ed classes.

It disturbed me to learn that Fox News edited out applause and a standing ovation that Rev. Joseph Lowery received in response to comments, during Coretta Scott King's funeral,
mentioning failure to find WMD in Iraq. (Thanks Blogora.)

Speaking of the Blogora, it recently offered this interesting summary of two rhetorical approaches regarding the nature of legal argument.

Speaking of legal argument, our government now argues that some detained people have no constitutional rights. At all. Which helps explain what seemed to me a bizarre reaction to the release of more Abu Ghraib pictures: anger. The article quotes "Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman telling The Associated Press [that airing the photos] 'could only further inflame and possibly incite unnecessary violence in the world.'" Which is true, but it seems bizarre to make the focus of the anger on the people showing the pictures, rather than the people who did the bad stuff and took pictures of it.

In happier news, the U.S. government has decided to investigate its immigration courts, in response to severe criticism of the the immigration court system by several U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. I am sincerely pleased.

In the entirely-too-full-these-days category of "news about science that we got wrong," sorry, it turns out the birth control patch is not really so safe. Oh, and Teflon causes cancer. That's crazy talk; next thing you know, they'll be saying that modernized agricultural and food delivery policies that have made food so inexpensive and plentiful in the U.S. may be responsible for declining mental health.

And now for the crescendo of random sundriness:

"Man coughs up nail after 35 years"
"Rats understand cause and effect"
Sharks sense electrical energy with special cells that evolved into our heads and faces.
Shark attacks have dropped because people fight back more often these days.
Science seems to disprove some Mormon beliefs, about the genetic background of Native Americans.
And "students learn more from teachers who hand-wave." What?

Goodnight!