It’s Only a Theory

In October of 2005, George C. Deutsch, a young Bush political appiontee to NASA, told the web designers to place the word “theory” before every mention of the Big Bang on the NASA website. This of course, pissed off a bunch of people.

On February 6th, 2006, Nick Anthis of The Scientific Activist (a blog) posted the revelation that through some simple research he had found that Deutsch never graduated from Texas A&M as his resume claimed. In fact, he never finished college at all! The New York Times also has the story here. You can see the story as it unfolded in NASA Watch here. (Thanks for the heads up, Mr. R)

Thank you Mister Bush. For appointing a man who did not go to college to a position in which he was able to censor what scientists told the public. I really appreciate that… a lot. Of course, telling people what to believe is something you think you do quite well.

–Jane, she is just a theory

Who’s Listening?

Because it has been on my mind lately due to the talk of wire taps without permits:

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Benjamin Franklin
An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania (1759)

–Jane, keeps it private

New Nominee

Really, the only thing that will make me feel better about this is if I was really, really drunk. Thanks to Wonkette, there is a drinking game to match my mood:

Every time you hear “unlike Harriet Miers,” take a sip. Every time you hear “in contrast to Harriet Miers,” do a shot. Every time you hear “more judicial experience in his pinkie than Harriet Miers has in her whole stooped and shriveled body,” pound yourself in the forehead with a copy of Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

–Jane, who wants a Flaming Dr. Pepper?

Politics, Money, and ALA

Karen G. Schneider is one of my favorite bloggers and one of my favorite people. I love to hear her talk and to discuss all those things that make being a librarian fun, interesting, and frustrating. Today, she has written a very good post on ALA, the Iraq Resolution, and politics.

We are lucky to be in a profession where what we do forces us to think about fundamental issues such as what a government should do with its resources and what rights and services people are entitled to as people. As librarians, it is also doubly meaningful when we raise the B.S. flag on a national policy.

I have to admit that I have been conflicted about ALA releasing these kinds of resolutions. ALA represents many different kinds of librarians and there are some of us that support the Patriot Act and our current administrations policies. I will say up front that I am not one of those, but I do respect that we all have a right to our opinions.

Karen is right when she says that librarians are the the people who stand up for those who are unable to make their voice rise above the crowd, but I wonder how hard it would be for me to support the resolution if it was against something I beleived in. I still have some mixed feelings, that are hard to put into tangible sentences.

What drives it home for me is a point that Karen makes, drawing the link between all our resources being in Iraq and having nothing at home when Katrina hit. Or when Rita came ashore. Or when libraries started closing and reducing hours because they could not longer pay their staff or afford their buildings. What does it really say about us as a culture that our libraries are closing, schools can not pay their electric bills, and we send troops into battle without all the proper gear?

–Jane, what indeed

Today the idiot award goes to….

Ok, there are two things I want to comment on this morning. One has been in the news here in Texas, and elsewhere, for about a week:
The Texas Board of Education, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that High School kids should only learn about abstinence. They have adopted a set of health textbooks that contain little information about contraceptives. Seriously, when is the last time a teenager heard an adult say, “Hey that is bad don’t try that,” and the teenager actually listened? Almost never. If you want to teach abstinence, do it at home.

One more thing: A school district in Georgia is embroiled in a battle over Evolution, if it should appear in High School textbooks, and if there should be a disclaimer on the books about the theory. Didn’t we settle this in the Scopes Trial?

I somtimes forget the level of idiocy displayed by people on a regular basis. Thank you Texas Board of Education and Cobb County, GA for reminding me humans are indeed a stupid species.