I have noticed something that is becoming increasingly common. After a politician says something pandering to appeal to some constituency, and is then quoted those words back and asked to explain it to a different constituency that may not share the same sympathies, the politician simply says that the quoted words had been “taken out of context”. [Read more…]
When I returned to Sri Lanka after competing my doctorate, I splurged some of our meager savings on my dream of owning a full set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, although it was really expensive. I used to enjoy looking things up and skimming through the pages. Unfortunately the turmoil in Sri Lanka in 1983 caused us to leave abruptly and leave all our stuff behind, so after enjoying the books for just a little over a year, I gave it away to friends with deep regret. [Read more…]
I do not pay much attention to Rush Limbaugh. As far as I know, he has never said anything insightful and his shtick seems to be, like Ann Coulter, to say outrageous things just to gain attention. I usually just ignore them but his recent outburst against Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, repeatedly calling her a slut and a prostitute, was quite extraordinary. I didn’t think that even he would sink so low. [Read more…]
The news that some neutrinos may travel faster than the speed of light caused a sensation when it broke in September of last year.
Like many physicists who have lived through similar reports in the past, my reaction was one of skepticism, both of the claim and [Read more…]
Rachel Maddow talks about how our elections have become proxy battles for billionaire interests. A large segment, starting at around the 3:00 mark, deals with Mitt Romney’s secretive national finance co-chair Frank VanderSloot whom [Read more…]
The website Antiwar.com is essential reading for me. In my opinion, it is the most useful and important comprehensive news and opinion site around.
The people behind it can likely be labeled as a mix of paleo-conservatives and libertarians who are refreshingly open to a wide spectrum of news and opinions from across the political spectrum and around the world, with a perspective that consists of opposing the idea of the US being a military empire, opposing wars of aggression, and protecting civil liberties.
They are holding a fund drive and I urge those who can to donate something.
Frank VanderSloot is an Idaho-based billionaire CEO of a company called Melaleuca that sells dietary supplements and cleaning products in a manner that has been likened to the dubious Amway model. He is supposedly a devout Mormon who has opposed measures that are seen as gay-friendly and he and his company are one of the largest donors ($1 million) to the pro-Romney SuperPAC, Restore Our Future and [Read more…]
Like most people, I find Wikipedia to be quite useful. It has grown on me over time and I have donated to their fund drives as I think it serves a valuable function and is also a great experiment in open-source knowledge and the wisdom of the crowds. I have found that on topics that I know something about, it has often been quite good. I generally tend [Read more…]
Rush Limbaugh seems to think that with the perception that the economy is improving, the best strategy for Republicans would be to wage yet another ‘culture war’ election. He says, “Something tells me, that if the upcoming election could be decided on social issues, the Republicans could win that in [Read more…]