Archive for December, 2007
Betrayal and Pusillanimity
It is appalling that House Resolution HR847 (”Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith”) passed the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 372-9. Among the “aye” votes: 195 democrats! This unnecessary bit of empty symbolism is little more than political pandering, with the unfortunate consequence of reinforcing the mistaken notion [...]
Read More..>>Resistance is Not Futile
A thought-provoking article in a recent issue of Science magazine (Science 2 November 2007, Vol. 318. no. 5851, pp. 812 - 814) discussed the evolution of two mechanisms of host defense against pathogenic infection. These two conceptually distinct components of host defense are resistance, in which the burden of the infection is limited through [...]
Read More..>>Intolerable Political Pandering
Writing at Salon, Joe Conason discusses the religious intolerance so sadly displayed in recent remarks by leading Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. In the process of pandering to the right wing they imagine to be in control of the Republican party, these two have few qualms in asserting the superiority of faith [...]
Read More..>>Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men
Tis the season, both political and religious. And it seems to be bringing out a nasty streak of intolerance in the name of religious tolerance. So, apologies for this disjointed compendium, but I need to clear a backlog of disturbing bookmarks. Some of this ground has been well trodden by others, but it’s worth an [...]
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