Liberals vs. Science?

It is no big mystery what the conservatives and Republican Party are doing in their war against science.  The comments of people like Todd Akin, about his concept of “legitimate rape” show a complete and utter disregard for science and fact.  Then there is Paul Brown, who says that the Theory of Evolution, embryology and the Big Bang Theory are all lies, straight from Satan.  Both of these people are members of the House Science Committee, helping this country decide what the future of its scientific programs will be.  These people are scientifically illiterate.  Republicans have been making war on stem cell research, birth control and even admitting that there is such a thing as global warming.  We are all well-aware of how much the political-right of this country, in its most extreme, hates science, and scientific knowledge.  Not hard to see why.

However, there is something that America is not so familiar with – the political-left and its war on science.  I know, it doesn’t seem right.  After all, the left is the first to talk about the issue of global warming, and its potential effects on the environment.  They are the first to talk about alternative energy.  The progressive and liberal communities seem to be the first to jump on the bandwagon of improving science in this country.  However, such is not the case.

Think about this – the liberal community at large has almost come out universally against nuclear power, citing the waste disposal issues, and using the incident at the Fukushima plant as their go-to source to why nuclear power is wrong.  They seem to forget the Japanese government’s report where they came out very openly and admitted their own mistakes in how the plant was run.  It was almost refreshing to me to see a document that open about the failures of government.  Mistakes were made, and things could have been better.  However, at the same time, discarding the idea of nuclear power, just because of what could go wrong is fool-hardy.  Nuclear power gets continually more efficient, and with development, who knows what is possible.  Looking at more productive uses of fossil fuels is discarded simply because of global warming.  Of course, looking into alternative energy should be a priority, but to disregard being able to use fossil fuels better, since we are still dependent on them as a species, is ridiculous.

The liberal community has never been too fond of hydro-electric power, stating that it does damage to river ecosystems.  They come out against wind power because the wind turbines kill birds.  In fact, if you look at the liberal community and its attitude about science, it is that everything having to with nature is good, and anything that isn’t nature is bad.  It sounds good on paper, but the reality is that if you look at the environmental views of the liberal community at large, it seems to almost mirror a religion in its own right.

A big talking point from a lot of liberals I have been tight with is that genetically modified food is bad.  I still remember that whole “Franken-food” debacle, when there was the introduction of engineered plants and animals designed to grow faster and feed more people.  There is a huge liberal movement that is in favor of completely getting rid of all genetically modified food, and instead having all “organic” food, though recent cases like those against Nature Valley even leave the idea of what is truly organic up in the air.

Part of me wonders if my fellow liberals have forgotten that mankind has been genetically engineering its own food and animals since we have begun developing as a species.  Example – the banana.  The fruit that Ray Comfort got so famous(ly lambasted) for saying it was “the atheist’s nightmare.”  He cited how it was so perfectly suited to be handled by people.  Nobody in his office it seems ever took the time to tell him that the reason it was so perfectly made for people was because it was made by people, to some extent.  We engineered the fruit’s growth, making it better for human beings to work with.  For over 10,000 years of humanity’s existence on this planet, we have been engineering food to grow faster, better and more.  There are over 7 billion people on this planet.  And the reality is that there is starvation on this planet.  Ironically, more people are dying of obesity than starvation now, but the fact remains that it still exists.  If we went completely to organic food, we would, in effect, be condemning over 3 billion people to death, and we would still be ignoring history.  The only difference between what we do now, and what we did then is that once upon a time, we engineered food and animals through breeding and selection.  Now, we do it with genetic engineering.  But it is still the same.

I do what I can to avoid being a part of any group.  If I had to say what my political views are, I would say that socially, I have more in common with libertarians than I do with liberals or conservatives.  It isn’t the government’s job to tell you who to marry, or what you can and can’t own or put in your body.  Economically, I am for the free market, except where the government is concerned.  I am for the welfare state, because I have seen it work.  It works wonders in Britain, who has the best health care system of any industrialized nation.  I believe that the role of government is to provide for people what they cannot easily provide for themselves.  So, I guess that I am of the left, in most regards.

That said, there is one thing that I hold to be above all others – science.  Science is the single greatest thing that this country and this species has going for it.  All of you who will argue about how perfect nature is, think about this – before modern medicine, diseases like the flu or pneumonia were death sentences to vast numbers of the population.  Polio was disabling and brutalizing children across the world.  Smallpox was a virus that we were able to exterminate, save where it is kept in secure laboratories, to be studied and used by those who keep us safe.  Science has given us the internet.  Science has given us the car.  Science is the key to humanity’s future, and to deny it is a crime.  That is my belief.

Thanks to science, this is the best time for our species to live.  We can communicate to people across the planet instantaneously.  The moment I click “Publish” on this post, it will immediately go out to all of you, to see and read if it meets your interests.  Science has gotten us to the moon.  Science could potentially get us to Mars, and beyond.  Though I didn’t hear many Democrats clamoring to continue to fund NASA.  No, NASA’s budget was slashed to ribbons.

Science is the greatest tool that humanity has.  It is the key to our evolution as a species.  And to deny it, it is guaranteeing that we are going to fail as a species.  We, as a species need to embrace science completely.  Otherwise, well, I think I’ll let somebody else say it…

Until next time, a quote,

“And even if you’re not a scientist, or a technologist, you will value that activity.  And that, in the 21st century, are the foundations of tomorrow’s economy.  And without it, we might as well just slide back into the cave.  Cause that’s where we’re headed, right now, broke.”  -Neil deGrasse Tyson, How much would you pay for the universe? (Neil deGrasse Tyson) 

Peace out,

Maverick

The Fiscal Cliff Debate is Over. America Loses

Well, with this whole fiscal cliff debate, which I have been avoiding talking about because I was waiting to see the outcome, they have come to an agreement over what is to be done.  And, as it should come as no surprise to anyone, it screws the poor, and helps the rich.  Here is what has been done -

1. The Republicans have no given us anything on the debt ceiling.  The Treasury is going to have to find a way to avoid default, so we are going to see another routine of this pathetic charade when the next debt ceiling debate comes up, and Congress feigns this battle for what we know is how it is going to end.

2. They have made the Bush Tax Cuts for the rich permanent, while only extending those for the poor for 5 years.  Oh, right, they went up a little for those who are making over $400,000.  But it isn’t nearly enough.

3. Continues its exempt over the first $5 million in inherited estate wealth, what they called the Death Tax, in Republican circle.  In other words, the amount of money a dead rich person gives to a living rich person.

5. And most important – it doesn’t get nearly enough in revenue increases, meaning that there will have to be cuts.  And guess where these cuts will come from?  Social programs.

This is a failure.  It’s been heralded by both sides as a “compromise.”  Yeah, it’s a compromise in the same way that being given the flu is a good thing.  But the President is saying it’s a good thing.  That’s because “compromise” has been this administration’s opinion on everything.  Obama stands for nothing, and will “compromise” for everything.

Now look, I am not naive enough to think that all battles can be won.  Compromise is a perfectly acceptable option, when the compromise is fair.  Cut the budget?  Sure, I’m down with that.  How about cutting the most massive balls-and-chains that America has dragging it down right now – our UNBELIEVABLY bloated military budget, and the useless and failed war on drugs?  If we slashed the military budget to ribbons and got rid of the war on drugs, the revenue would see things even out in ways you can’t begin to imagine.  These two things, more than any other, are the anchor around America’s neck.

But no, that’s not what happens.  We attack social programs.  We attack what helps the least of us, and extol what helps the richest.  Mr. Rogers would be rolling in his grave if he saw how quickly we abandon his message of helping each other, and are eager to say that we should help ourselves.  That man is a personal icon of mine, and it kills me how easily people forget his message.  But that’s okay, the Christian-right of America is quick to do the same with Jesus, since he preached roughly the same thing.  But hey, he’s just the son of their bullshit sky wizard.  Why should they care?

I’m just going to keep this short – this is bullshit.  This whole pathetic affair is bullshit, and anybody with a modicum of political sense saw it coming from a mile away.  I saw it coming, and so did all of you.

So, in conclusion, welcome to 2013.  I hope it won’t be as fucked as 2012

Until next time, a quote,

“The gears are turning, the game is set. *Sigh* I’m sick of this, is it 2013 yet?”  -TJ Kirk, 2012

Peace out,

Maverick

You Can’t be a Democrat & Get into Heaven?

Ugh…dammit!  I was having a good night, watching a video that is reviewing a terrible movie called “Cyberbu//y.”  It was a good night.  I had all my Christmas shopping planned out (an atheist who celebrates Christmas?!  OH MY GOD!).  I even have a couple of really clever ideas for the family.  It was going to be loads of fun.  But then, my arch-nemesis attacks – Stupidity.  Stupidity has come in so many forms over the years of this blog.  It sometimes came in the form of Rebecca Watson’s uber-feminist pointlessness.  Other times, it came in the form of those stupid posters that showed guys yelling at women, with fists coming out of their mouths, implying that verbal abuse is just as bad as physical abuse (which is the stupidest thing…well, not ever, but up there).  And now, it has come to me in the form of a teacher who has decided to circumvent the Constitution at a public school, all so that she can get her person opinion out to her students.

I know, here’s the link so you know I’m not making this up.  The story goes that a teacher named Kendra Baker, in Laurel County, Kentucky, decided that in lieu of the election season, she had to make a political statement.  You know, that wouldn’t bug me so much, if only her statement wasn’t so stupid.

Her statement, that she wrote on her white-board for her students to read was -

You can’t be a Democrat & go to Heaven.

Ugh…why do I have to find these things.  I don’t want to.  I really don’t.  I want to find happy stories, about people being good to each other.  But instead, I have to have my Facebook feed give me the news of the stupidest people in this country and how they are fucking things up for the rest of us.

Now, naturally, when people saw this written in big, bold letters on a teacher’s white-board, they had a reaction.  Somebody took a picture of it with their phone and sent it to the school board.  So, what was her punishment for disobeying the rules and circumventing the Constitution?  Well, she got reprimanded, verbally, and told to apologize to her students.  Well, ain’t that just spiffy.  Yeah, she shouldn’t be at least on somebody’s shit-list, or fired, for this, right?

It’s stuff like this that really gets me to being annoyed whenever I hear liberals argue that churches shouldn’t be taxed.  Anyone who is stupid enough to think that religion doesn’t have a strangle-hold on politics in this country is an idiot.  You cannot be a Muslim or a Hindu, or a Buddhist or an atheist and get elected to public office in this country.  You have to be Christian.  Or, in Mitt Romney’s case, close enough to Christian to where people won’t notice it.  But yeah, one has to have religion backing them, because if they don’t, they won’t get elected.

And by the way, this isn’t a new thing.  Anyone who reads this old enough to remember the election of JFK?  Back then, America had a shit-fit over a Catholic getting elected as President, because they thought the Pope would be his right-hand adviser.  Uh, question – why the fuck does that matter?  I mean, really, what do a candidate’s religious views matter?  They shouldn’t.  Not to the public.  What should matter is their ability to govern.  Though, as we have seen, this country has made a sport out of not caring about the issues.

Religion is all over politics in this country.  The Republican Party exists because white religious men want to feel like they still have some control.  That isn’t to say that the Democrats don’t have their fair share of religious idiots in that party.  But the Republican Party exists because of religious ideology.  Their religious ideology governs everything that they are for in the realm of “family values.”  Their party hates abortion and women’s rights.  Guess where that came from – religion.  They hate gay marriage.  Guess where that came from – religion.  Once upon a time, they (conservatives) didn’t want to give up slavery, and guess where a lot of that reasoning came from – religion.  Conservatives in America are a completely religious group.  Zealots who are driven by faith, and are actively trying to make this country worse based on that belief.  Because they aren’t smart enough to see and understand something.

Now, it is worth noting that this article against this teacher does seem to want to paint the scarlet letter on her, which does seem a little harsh, but to be honest, the fact that almost nothing happened to her is worth talking about.  Because this is something America needs to realize – that religion is such a substantial part of this country that it is becoming acceptable to use as a weapon to promote your views.  This school didn’t have too much of a problem with a public school teacher disobeying the rules and going against the Constitution.  States in the deep south don’t seem to mind having creationism (the stupidest, most unscientific “theory” in existence) taught alongside evolution.  This is par for the course here in America.

I will close this with a quote by George Carlin, which is exactly how I feel about this topic.

Until next time, a quote,

“If churches want to play the game of politics, let them pay admission like everyone else.”  – George Carlin

Peace out,

Maverick

Banned for Talking about the Vag? REALLY?!

The world of American stupidity never ceases to amaze me sometimes.  This country has become so stupid that it is actually approaching the nirvana of idiocy.  Like we have reached some kind of stupid enlightenment.  Wanna know some examples of our stupidity?  Here are a few -

• 6 out of 10 people do not believe in the Theory of Evolution, which has a mountain of scientific evidence to back it up.
• America is 7th in literacy.
• We are 22nd in science.
• The bulk of the public does not accept the evidence for man-made climate change.
• We have absolutely castrated NASA, even though we should be leading the way for space exploration.
• Artistic people are not endorsed by this culture.
• An atheist cannot hope to get elected President of this country, because the bulk of the people in this country votes for somebody based on what fake deity they believe in.
• Most people think that contraception is somehow connected to abortion, even though it doesn’t abort anything.  It prevents the embryo from being fertilized.
• A large chunk of Americans think that it is “religious freedom” to deny women to access to contraception.
• One can’t say the word “vagina” in a House meeting without being barred from speaking.

Don’t believe the last one?  Well, let me introduce you to Rep. Lisa Brown (D).  She is the House Representative for the state of Michigan.  She comes from the suburbs of Detroit.  She was barred from speaking on the House floor because she “broke decorum” during the debate about a bill that would work to end abortion.  The language of the bill says that a doctor has to ensure some…I don’t know, group of people, that they are not going to coerce a woman into getting an abortion.  Yeah, because doctors are all just holding guns to these women’s heads and telling them to get an abortion.  Hell, they are holding the gun at their head all the time they are having it!  Yeah, that’s how abortion works in America, folks.

Thankfully, Rep. Brown saw through this, and had some choice words for to say on the House floor.

I’m flattered you’re all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no.

Can we get a round of applause for Rep. Brown?  If only more women in government would talk this way.  However, since America can’t seem to get out of the third grade, she was banned from speaking on the House floor.  Apparently, the word “vagina” is too harsh for them.

Why is America so stupid?  I really have to ask that.  I’m done being nice.  America, you are fucking stupid.  You are the stupidest bunch of imbeciles that I have seen in a long time.  Why?  I could blame the education system.  It is a complete mess that needs a lot of work.  But the fact is that if I blamed the education system, that wouldn’t fix things.  Merely would make the next generation a tad bit less dumb.

Is it the fact that they couldn’t leave the third grade?  Now, to all the Republican Representative, I just want to say, I understand how hard it can be.  Growing up is difficult.  But I think that you can handle wearing your big boy pants and going to the fourth grade.  And soon, you’ll be able to handle talking about grown-up stuff!  Doesn’t that sound like fun?!  Talking about grown-up things like grown-ups?  I think you’d like that.  I have a good feeling that one day, you’ll be able to be just like all the rest of us adults, and actually have an adult conversation.

The line that the people who banned her from speaking used was that it would offend little kids.  Well, I have just proven that they couldn’t leave the third grade, because it offended them!  You know, every time that I look around, I see this country getting stupider and stupider.  We have stupid people making all the decisions in this country.  Stupid, ignorant and hopelessly corrupt people that our public hails as so wise for voting in.

The same public who is too stupid to accept the Theory of Evolution.  The same public who is too stupid to realize that America is not the greatest country in the world.  We are a mediocre one, at best.  This public is so stupid that they don’t even have the mental fortitude enough to realize how the rich are fucking them, day in and day out.

America, you’re stupid.  You’re stupid, and you need to accept it.  You need to accept it because people like all the House members in Michigan who have barred Rep. Brown from speaking are elected by you.  Carlin was right – garbage in, garbage out.  When you have stupid people at the voting booth, you elect more stupid people.  It’s a cycle of stupidity that this country needs to shake if we are ever going to further ourselves as a country.

So the next time that I hear some slack-jawed idiot talking about how great America is, I keep in mind that this idiot probably votes.  This idiot probably is going to teach his idiot children that voting is something that is great, so long as the person that they are voting for shares their religion.  This idiot will probably say that teaching kids about sex is wrong, and that will have his kids having more kids, because they couldn’t get sex education.  This idiot will probably say that access to contraception and abortion should be cut off, because Gawd wouldn’t like it. Oh, and this idiot will probably also say that saying the word “vagina” is bad.

But worst of all, this idiot isn’t the only idiot.  This country is full of other idiots just like him.  Now there are a lot of smart people in this country, but until the culture finally comes to its senses and works to make the stupid people ashamed for being stupid, this kind of lunacy will continue forever.  America, we have to make stupid people ashamed of being stupid!  That’s it.  Embrace intelligence, or perish.

Until next time, a quote,

“What makes your god any less made-up than his?”  -Huey Freeman, The Boondocks

Peace out,

Maverick