Archive for August, 2009
Yellow Dog Republicans
Nothing describes the current state of the Republican party and its homogenous, march-in-step base than the research below. Facts as normal people consider them are irrelevant to the GOP base, those who proudly say “I’m a Repubican!” If there were a yellow dog on the ballot running against a Democrat, these people would vote for the dog.
Hoffman’s idea is based on a study he and colleagues did of nearly 50 participants, who were all Republican and reported believing in the link between the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Saddam Hussein. Participants were given the mounting evidence that no link existed and then asked to justify their belief.
All but one held onto the belief, using a variety of so-called motivated reasoning strategies. “Motivated reasoning is essentially starting with a conclusion you hope to reach and then selectively evaluating evidence in order to reach that conclusion,” explained Hoffman’s colleague, sociologist Andrew Perrin of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
For instance, some participants used a backward chain of reasoning in which the individual supported the decision to go to war and so assumed any evidence necessary to support that decision, including the link between 9/11 and Hussein.
Their research is published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry.
Jeanna Bryner
Senior Writer
livescience.com – Wed Aug 26
Republicans and Evolution
Whether or not the Earth rotates around the Sun depends on whether it was said by a Republican or a Democrat. Were a Republican to say that Sun actually revolves around the Earth because God is on our side and because it keeps us safe – this would instantly become factual to a member of the base.
The scary thing is that it’s moved from political leaders pandering to a group of voters in order to get elected – to the group of voters actually electing people who are now no longer pandering, but actually believe this stuff. In the primaries for the 2008 presidential election, no less than three Republican presidential candidates said they reject evolution during a televised debate. (They believe that humans were placed here in current form 5,000 years ago and that anything suggesting there was life prior to 5,000 years ago is in error. Which means that dinosaurs and man were living together. But I digress).
According to a 2007 Gallup poll, the majority of Republicans reject evolution. That’s a good group to be a part of. So, more than half – it’s shocking to think that 1 of every 2 Republicans rejects evolution. But that’s not the case, it’s more than 2 out of 3 Republicans who reject evolution (68%). Compared to the number of Democrats, this is a 70% increase. That number alone would make it nearly impossible for me to be a Republican, I’d simply be too embarassed to associate myself with such myopic, tiny views. I can barely fathom how 250 years ago people believed the world was flat. I really can’t imagine how nearly 70% of America’s largest political party doesn’t believe in human evolution.
Source: Gallup.com
The other startling thing is the total number of Americans who reject evolution. While it is much lower in Independents and Democrats, the overall number is still very large. So large, that of 35 Western countries, the USA has highest rate of rejection evolution than any other Western country except Turkey. Turkey. Our scientific belief on this issue is sandwiched between Turkey and Cyprus. That’s below Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia. And it’s miles away from our counterparts who are near the top: England, France, Japan, Germany. In the UK, roughly 70% of the citizens believe in evolution. In the USA, roughly 25%. The French outnumber Americans in this belief by 3 to 1.
How Much Sleep?
Something that was always suspected…
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The amount of sleep needed each night may depend less on fluffy pillows than a single genetic mutation, according to research published on Thursday. A team of scientists claim they have identified a gene that regulates the optimum amount of human sleep each individual needs, explaining why after six hours of slumber one person may awake reborn, while another is like the living dead.
more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090814/ts_afp/scienceussleep
Would Hawking Get Medical Care in England?
It was the blooper heard round the world. In an editorial denouncing Democratic health reform plans, Investor’s Business Daily tried to frighten its readers by declaring that in Britain, where the government runs health care, the handicapped physicist Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance,” because the National Health Service would consider his life “essentially worthless.”
Professor Hawking, who was born in Britain, has lived there all his life, and has been well cared for by the National Health Service, was not amused.
Besides being vile and stupid, however, the editorial was beside the point. Investor’s Business Daily would like you to believe that Obamacare would turn America into Britain — or, rather, a dystopian fantasy version of Britain. The screamers on talk radio and Fox News would have you believe that the plan is to turn America into the Soviet Union. But the truth is that the plans on the table would, roughly speaking, turn America into Switzerland — which may be occupied by lederhosen-wearing holey-cheese eaters, but wasn’t a socialist hellhole the last time I looked.
Let’s talk about health care around the advanced world.
Every wealthy country other than the United States guarantees essential care to all its citizens.
Read Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/opinion/17krugman.html?_r=2&em
Obama, what say you?
President Obama speaks about health insurance reform and economic stimulus:
Health Care Reform Info
False ‘death panel’ rumor has familiar roots
Assertion was not born of anonymous e-mailers or partisan bloggers
This false claim was born – intententionally – from a major “news” source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32412764/ns/politics-the_new_york_times
Healthcare FACT or FICTION:
ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HealthCare/story?id=8317197&page=1
Politifact: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/aug/06/your-guide-health-care-distortions/
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
Republican Health Care Reform
What’s up with the sharks?
What’s going on with the sharks? Check out this video about one of the Earth’s oldest species and see!
Shark Alert! Species Struggle
Go Earth! 