Medieval

"More than 4,000 scientists have signed a petition accusing George Bush of twisting their work to further his political agenda." link

Its four thousand this time, including 20 Nobel prize winners. This isn't a case of religion just influencing ethical judgements or values. This is a case of Bush's religious convictions distorting well confirmed empirical results. Let's get this medieval fuck out of office. It's not John Kerry that has the religion problem, its Bush that has the religion problem.

Why I Changed My Voter Registration Today

Norman Solomon of FAIR explains why he obtained a voter registration form in order to change his party affiliation from "decline to state" to the Green Party.

If strategic thinking prevails, the possibility exists that the Green Party in 2004 will strengthen itself from the bottom up while also providing tangible solidarity in the national effort to defeat Bush. If the Green Party proves equal to this momentous task, it could open up new possibilities for the years and decades ahead.

Solomon is impressed, as I am, with Green Party nominee David Cobb's safe-state campaign strategy. I encourage all progressives to follow Soloman's example and change your party registration to the Green Party. Do this even if you are in a swing state and intend to vote for Kerry.

Green Party Refuses to Back Nader for President

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Reuters) - The Green Party on Saturday refused to back Ralph Nader in his independent run for the White House, a move that could reduce his chances of being a factor in this year's election.

Delegates to the half-million-member party's presidential convention voted to nominate party activist David Cobb, a California lawyer who led the delegate count going into the meeting.

David Cobb will run a "smart growth" campaign. He will avoid swing states and focus on states that are not in contention in order to build the Green Party. The Green Party understands that this is an exceptional year. The Green Party understands that George W. Bush is a threat to everything it stands for and it did the right thing by not backing Nader. As I live in a state that is not a swing state I will vote for Cobb. I encourage those of you who live in swing states to hold your nose and vote for Kerry in order to get Bush out.

David Cobb for President

Ralph Nader has pissed off a lot of Democrats with his independent Candidacy this year. He has also pissed off many Green party supporters, including myself. David Cobb is seeking the Green party nomination this weekend at the Green Party National Convention. Cobb wants to build a non-corporate third party. I thought that was what Nader was all about, but running as an independent does nothing to help third parties. Cobb also believes there is a more responsible way to build the Green Party without risking throwing the election to Bush. There is an excellent interview with David Cobb on Salon. Here are some important excerpts.

Salon: Would running a safe-states strategy -- one where the Greens wouldn't campaign heavily in states where they might cost Kerry the election -- be a wise and intelligent use of the Greens' strength?

David Cobb: First of all, I'd never call my strategy a "safe-states strategy." It's a smart-growth strategy. Smart growth means focusing resources where we are more likely to build the Green Party -- the 40 states where the Electoral College votes are not going to be genuinely contested.

John Kerry is no progressive, and the message for the Green Party in those states can be "progressives, don't waste your vote, invest your vote." A progressive voting for Kerry in an uncontested state cannot help unelect Bush. All voting for Kerry will do is say that you support his corporatist, militarist policies. Let's remember John Kerry voted for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He voted for No Child Left Behind. He voted for the PATRIOT Act. He voted for NAFTA. He's on the record supporting the war on drugs, the prison-industrial complex, he's on the record opposing universal healthcare and raising the minimum wage to a living wage.

Salon: It seems like the reason for avoiding swing states is as much to prevent an erosion of the Democratic base as it is because you'll have an easier time party-building elsewhere. If it's worth showing mercy on the Democrats in swing states, why not go one step further and ask Greens in swing states to vote for Kerry?

David Cobb: Because my goal is to grow and build the Green Party, not to acquiesce to Democratic Party leadership. I don't believe that John Kerry is going to solve any of the fundamental problems facing this country.

I'm going to tell people to vote their conscience. But if people are so terrified that they're going to [vote for Kerry], I'm saying, "Then do what you need to do, but join with us in the Green Party, register for the Green Party, and vote for Green Party people down ballot." Ultimately those people, I believe, are going to have enough confidence, and courage, and vision, to stop "holding their nose" -- but if they can't do it in this election cycle, I'm patient with them.

I acknowledge that I'm articulating a very nuanced approach, and that it is not black-and-white. But that reflects my understanding of where we are.

As I live in an uncontested state, I will definitely vote for David Cobb if he wins the Green Party nomination this Saturday. I believe it would be a big mistake for Greens to endorse Nader instead.

God's Number Is Up

Among a heap of books claiming that science proves God's existence emerges The Probability of God (Crown Forum, 2003), by Stephen D. Unwin that computes a probability of 67 percent.

People often try to give claims the appearance of scientific credibility by couching them in terms of mathematics. A good bullshit detecting technique is to find out how the person making the claim came up with the numbers that enter into the equation. When done properly Math is internally consistent. However, if you put garbage in, you get garbage out. Michael Shermer takes out the trash in the following article.

Scientific American: God's Number Is Up

Short is Tall and Tal was Short

Well the FIDE World Chess Championship is underway. We have an early upset. English Super-Grandmaster Nigel Short was upset by Polish Grandmaster Michal Krasenkow. I was watching Short play this morning on ICC. The members bantered about the game as it was played. Usually their comments are pretty stupid, but occasionally they are amusing.

Member 1: Hey, does anybody know how tall Short is?
Member 2: He is quite tall. Short is tall.
Member 3: Anyone know how short Tal is?
Member 2: Tal was short.
Member 1: So, Short is tall and Tal was short! Ha ha ha!

Granny D for Senate!

Remember Doris "Granny D" Haddock. She was the 94-year-old woman who walked 3200 miles across America to promote campaign finance reform in 1999 and 2000. She is now running for the Senate in New Hampshire! John Nichols has more details here.

The Fight of Our Lives

The Fight of Our Lives is a superb speech by Bill Moyers. It is quite long, but well worth reading. Here is one gem among many from the article. Speeking about the influence of money on our democracy he said this:

It's why we're losing the balance between wealth and the commonwealth. It's why we can't put things right. And it is the single most destructive force tearing at the soul of democracy. Hear the great justice Learned Hand on this: "If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: 'Thou shalt not ration justice.' " Learned Hand was a prophet of democracy. The rich have the right to buy more homes than anyone else. They have the right to buy more cars than anyone else, more gizmos than anyone else, more clothes and vacations than anyone else. But they do not have the right to buy more democracy than anyone else.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

There have been several articles in the press speculating about John McCain joining Kerry on a Unity ticket. McCain has been pretty clear that he does not want to do this and I don't think it will happen. But the thought of it makes me sick. It makes Ralph Nader's criticism that there is little difference between the two major parties look prescient. In fact, a Kerry/McCain ticket would remove any illusion we might have that there are two seperate parties. John Stauber has written an important article about this prospect that provides a warning to progressives not to let there guard down if Kerry wins the election.

Anyone who believes that the Republican far-right's ascendancy to power is going to fade away should Bush manage to lose in November is over-medicated. The powerful right-wing juggernaut constructed over the decades is just hitting its prime, politically. Sure, the Republicans are far to the right of most Americans on key issues such as tax fairness, health care, abortion rights and the environment. But that was true during the Reagan regime, too, and we've just had a non-stop, week-long, media love-in reminding us how little it mattered then or now that Reagan was way out of touch on policies, since his tough-love patriotic cowboy image still sells so well.

Bush may very well lose in November given his foreign policy disasters and growing questions over why 9/11 was not prevented. But there is very little indication that even a Bush defeat would be much of a speed bump for the Republican right's growing power. Until progressives in America roll up their sleeves and work to create real political power on the left in the sort of disciplined, long-term, visionary and well-funded way that worked for the Right, desperate ploys will accomplish nothing in the long term. Kerry/McCain anyone?

One thing that has mobilized the left more than anything is the Iraq War. I believe Bush and Cheney should be impeached for their lies. However, what will actually change when it comes to Iraq if Kerry is elected. Practically nothing. This is not to say that people in battleground states shouldn't vote for Kerry, it is just a warning to progressives not to let their guard down if Kerry should win the election. Republicans and Democrats play good cop, bad cop with the American people. If given a choice I will certainly take the good cop over the bad cop, but we must realize that they are both still on the side of their corporate paymasters.

UPDATE: I just came across this, this, and let's not forget that Kerry said, "I am not a redistribution Democrat." I am warning you now, don't be surprised or upset when Kerry's presidency (should he win) pisses you off. Then maybe we can get support for a real progressive party.

Goethe

"No one is more a slave than the one who thinks he is free without being free."
— Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Cowardly Court Fails to Decide Merits of Pledge Case

The US Supreme Court has allowed the unconstitutional pledge to continue without actually ruling on the merits of the case. The case was dismissed on a technicality. Read about it here. I suspect that the court was happy to find this technicality. Pledge defenders don't have an argumentative leg to stand on, but removing "under god" from the pledge is too scary a proposition for the conservative members of the court. Cowards.

We Must Lift the Barriers that Stand in the Way of Science

Kerry calls for lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research.

"The medical discoveries that come from stem cell are crucial next steps in humanity’s uphill climb," Kerry closed. "And part of this nation’s greatness lies in the fact that we have led the world in great medical discoveries, with our breakthroughs and our beliefs going hand-in-hand. If we pursue the limitless potential of our science – and trust that we can use it wisely – we will save millions of lives and earn the gratitude of future generations."

link

26 More Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go

"A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November."

link

Democratic National Convention

Kos explains why you should link to the Democratic National Convention.

Some Evidence of Discrimination Against Atheists

The lack of studies on this matter makes it difficult to establish what I believe to be true. However, Margaret Downey presents some evidence in this article. She says she has compiled hundreds of incidence reports describing descrimination. Here is an example.

Gray, Tennessee: Carletta Sims joined a financial firm in June 2001. Shortly afterward, two Baptist coworkers took offense upon learning that Sims was an atheist. Management granted the coworkers’ request to be assigned workspaces further from Sims. When Sims complained about a picture of Jesus left on her computer, management discharged her. Sims filed suit, seeking $250,000; U.S. District Judge Thomas Hull ruled that “religious discrimination (or preferential treatment of Christians) can be inferred.” In January 2004, the major bank that had since acquired the firm settled with Sims for an undisclosed amount.

Downey lists several other incidencts of this sort in the article.

Status

Should a plumber be paid as much as a university professor? Perhaps he should. Julian Baginni helps us cure our obsession with status.

The Truth About the Gipper

William Rivers Pitt has written an excellent article about Reagan's death. It strikes the right balance between compassion that a human being with a family has died and telling the truth about the nature of his presidency.

Tolerance

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute—where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be a Catholic) how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote—where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. . . . I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end—where all men and all churches are treated as equal—where every man has the same right to attend or not to attend the church of his choice—where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind—and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and the pastoral levels, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood.

Who spoke these words? It was John F. Kennedy in 1960, when many were concerned that he would take orders from the Pope. Now it seems John F. Kerry is being told he should take orders from the Pope. The only candidate for president who takes his marching orders from religion is George W. Bush.

link. I found this via Brian Leiter.

Bush Erratic, Aides Say

This article is a gem. Have a look at the following to get the flavor of it.

In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”

I guess Bush wasn't kidding when he joked things would be easier if we lived in a dictatorship. Take a look a this one.

In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be “God’s will” and then tells aides to “fuck over” anyone they consider to be an opponent of the administration

This man is fucking nuts. Take a look at the rest of the article.

DISCLAIMER: This article isn't from the best of sources.

Leave Me Alone

Try this instead. Of course you'll need a Mac to run it.

Troubles With Meritocracy

I have made several posts about the problems involved in trying to create a society based on merit. Have a look at The Injustices of Merit by Chris Horner in Think. He does an excellent job.

Its the Middle-Class Stupid

Andrea Batista Schlesinger suggests progressives pay more attention to the middle-class.

When we start looking at the financial pressures on middle-class families, it's easy to see why the President's approval ratings are down on economic leadership. Though employment is on the increase, so are college tuition, property taxes, gas, milk and oil prices, the cost of health insurance and childcare, credit card debt and bankruptcy filings. Owning your own home and a station wagon, knowing you could send your kids to college, feeling secure about a retirement that awaited you; that's what it used to mean to be middle class in America. Today, it's a different story. And when the American dream doesn't work for the middle class, it also denies poor and low-income Americans access to the ladder of economic mobility. This new reality is both an obligation and an opportunity for progressives – if we dare to step out of our comfort zone.

Bye Bye

Tenet resigns. Its about time. Or as Gore would say. One down five to go.

Lying from A to Z

Have a look.