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 Wednesday, March 3, 2004
U.S.-Sponsored Regime Change in Haiti. Aristide is out -- and with the help of US forces, a democratically elected regime in Haiti is over. [AlterNet]
Read this to get a perspective on Haiti not found in the mainstream media. Although it is one sided, it is a view widely held in the rest of the world. When you ask why they hate us, it is because they beleive we are capable of overthrowing elected governments, selling weapons to insurgents, coups and kidnapping. Perception is most of the game, as this adminstration knows full well, since this is the bedrock of its viewpoint. 12:39:27 PM 
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Philanthropist Under Fire. George Soros believes in democracy, positive international relations, and effective strategies to reduce poverty -- all concepts considered highly dangerous and subversive to the Bush-Cheney ruling elite. [AlterNet]
Read this interview and realize that not all capitalists agree with Bush or his adminstration. that some are taking their money and using it to defeat him. Sounds like a book I will have to read.He hits the nail on the head with his last statement: They have little regard for the truth. 12:35:50 PM
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Wedding Church and State. The men of faith who helped frame the Constitution didn't need -- or want -- government to promote their personal beliefs. [AlterNet]
A nice discussion demonstrating why religious beliefs should never be embodied in the constitution. For many, the current aendment debate focusses on religious viewpoints and noy political. We are not having discussions about why the government should give tax breaks to married couples, or why a husband can not be compelled to testify against his wife, or why a spouse is included in the immediate family while a cohabitor is not. These are legitimate points about the government regulaton of marriage. We should be discussing why a heterosexual couple is entitled to these benefits and a homosexual one is not. Instead, the discussion deals with wrath of God, sinliness and moral repugnance. Marriage has political ramifications that are being conflated, on purpose, with religious ones. A shell game by cynical politicians. 12:33:27 PM
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Whacking the Hornet's Nest. If Haiti is any indication, Bush has learned nothing from the dangerous game he played in Iraq. [AlterNet]
I especially liked the last few paragraphs, which discuss changes that hit very close to home for me. 12:25:30 PM
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The Junk Science of George W. Bush. Flat-earthers in the Bush Administration -- along with hired guns and conservative think tanks -- are engaged in a campaign to suppress science that is arguably unmatched in the Western world since the Inquisition. [AlterNet]
An important article. This administration, more so than ANY other in my life time and perhaps in any American's lifetime, wants to twist the pursuit of science to its own ends. How soon before the power of the government is used to crush unhappy facts? It already is happening. How soon before the power of government is used to crush scientists? It is already happening, with a scientist's livelihood being threatened simply because they state scientific facts that do not fit the part line.
400 years ago men were tortured and killed for stating scientific truth. Could it happen again? Well, it appears that many who ventured near the 9/11 site may be in for difficult times because this adminstration suppressed data and issued press releases containing information it knew, or should have known, were wrong.
Other stories, of government scientists and their work being censored because the results were bad for business, indicate just how far this adminstration will abuse science. Watch for their phrase "sound science". Sounds reasonable but their belief is that "sound science" is only that which supports their beliefs. Science that does not reinforce what they already believe to be true, or what they want to be true, is "unsound science", even if it is right! This adminstration is not as direct as the Inquisition, but its anti-science stance could be a deadly. 12:03:24 PM
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Stacking the deck on science. I've been remiss in not commenting on the administration decision to change the composition of the Bioethics Advisory Council. I've certainly been remiss in linking to Jacob Levy's dissection of these changes. And I've been really remiss in not linking... [Daniel W. Drezner]
Read Glenn Reynold's article and gain an understanding of why Bush is dangerous to science and scientific thought. 12:00:04 PM
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Okay, I give up.. What's this supposed to be about? Treasury Department Is Warning Publishers of the Perils of Criminal Editing of the Enemy The current terrorist situation justifies making somewhat different judgments about the appropriate tradeoffs between security and procedural safeguards for liberty... [Mark A. R. Kleiman]
A totally nonsensical policy.Scientific publishers are free to publish if they do NO editting. But, if there is any editorial process at all, they are in trouble. These sorts of sanctions just do not work and throw the baby out with the bathwater. They serve to only harm citizens and not the government in power. 11:39:42 AM
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ScrappleFace Offers $10 for Proof Doonesbury is 'Comic'. (2004-02-25) -- Scott Ott, editor-in-chief of the daily news satire site ScrappleFace.com, today announced a $10 reward to anyone who could prove that Doonesbury is a "comic" strip. The lucrative contest comes in response to an offer by Doonesbury creator... [ScrappleFace]
Sometimes it is funny. 10:39:17 AM
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