Author Archive

135 Feet of Evolution

Wednesday, April 12th, 2006

This is mind-boggling: andabien.com has posted an evolutionary timeline on a 135-foot wide webpage. Click on the link and start scrolling to the right (you may have to scroll down a little bit first to see the timeline, depending on your monitor resolution). Each pixel equals 30,000 years. This really puts the lengths of time […]

Off-Topicality

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

First things first: If you’re planning on eating anytime in the near future, I suggest you make Laurie’s Creamy Garlicky Tomato Soup. We tried it tonight. Very easy to make. Looks yummy. Tastes even better. Next: Has anyone noticed that the soundtrack to Fox’s 24 seems particularly good this season? I never really paid attention […]

Conspiracies

Monday, April 10th, 2006

I’ve noticed a few people linking recently to videos offering conspiracy theories related to the events of 9/11. While I think the Bush administration took full advantage of what happened that day to increase their power and move their agenda forward, I seriously doubt that they were in any way actively a part of the […]

Common Descent

Friday, April 7th, 2006

A recent post at Dispatches from the Culture Wars contained a nice, concise outline of one of the lines of evidence for common descent – the idea that a few common ancestors, through descent with modification, gave rise to the wide variety of life that we see today. This line of evidence is the fossil […]

Integrity?

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

A story on NPR this morning talked about Jobs Partnership of Florida, “a faith-based group that believes the path out of poverty is through spiritual transformation.” It’s a work-training program for recovering drug adicts, single moms, and other people who might need help getting a fresh start in the workforce. As part of the program, […]

Bush Crowns Himself King

Sunday, March 26th, 2006

Maybe not yet, but he appears to be heading in that direction. From the Boston Globe (via DailyKos): When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using […]

The People, Yes!

Friday, March 24th, 2006

Local Greensboro bloggers Cara Michele and Sean Coon have launched thepeopleyes, a project to give a voice and online presence to people living at or below the poverty line in Greesboro, NC.

An Alternative to the Lottery (Tax)

Friday, March 24th, 2006

Ed Cone takes issue with those who would call North Carolina’s lottery a “tax”. I agree that it’s not a tax, however I do think it is appropriate to say that the lottery is taxed. As David Boyd points out, “What is the 50% the state keeps other than sales tax?” Jim Caserta furthers this […]

Questions and Non-Answers

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006

Throughout his presidency, Bush has been reluctant to go out on a limb and answer questions from the general population, preferring scripted events, friendly audiences, and softball lead-ins to talking point answers. Recently, he’s gotten a bit bold, and fielded a few real questions, and based on a couple of them, it’s easy to see […]

Law Enforcement Approach

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

David Boyd quotes from a George Will column pointing out the failure of the Bush administration’s attempts to use democracy to create “hospitable cultures”. Boyd then says: If the theory would have held, things would be much simpler. Since it didn’t, we’re back to the law enforcement model for dealing with nuclear terrorism. It’s nice […]