May 18, 2007
World Net Daily’s inaccuracies and blatant, fact-bending bias would be the source of much great humor, if so many gullible conservatives did not take the thing seriously.
Recently WND featured a story about the impossibility of changing light bulbs to save energy, alleging that doing so might turn one’s home into a toxic waste dump that costs $2,000 per bulb to clean up. Was anyone suckered in by the story?
According to Snopes.com, both Fox News and the Financial Post also got suckered, probably from the WND story.
Chiefly, that these news outlets got suckered is evidence they need better copy editors and fact checkers. Time for such news organizations to raise the pay of their “morgue” keepers and librarians, to get the facts straight. Read the rest of this entry »
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Accuracy, Environmental protection, Hoaxes, Journalism, Politics, Science | Tagged: CFL, Environmental protection, Gullibility, hoax, Journalism ethics, Nasty Politics, Toxic wastes | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 18, 2007
. . . by flying it correctly.
What other state flag has a website dedicated to its proper display? S.P.P.D.F.T. is one more indication of the unique nature of Texas, and Texans.
The California flag, for example, is virtually impossible to get wrong. Where’s the fun in that?
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 17, 2007
What rational person would have thought irrationality could be in such surplus?
My post on the silly opposition to naming a post office after Rachel Carson produced a minor response. Reader Electratig took me to task at his blog.
Criticism is based on interesting claims that millions have died unnecessarily because the entire planet was driven to ban DDT, which is really not toxic to humans, and which really is the panacea that would rid the world of malaria. I’m surprised that DDT isn’t implicated as a cure for the designated hitter rule, too. The criticisms don’t hold so much water as the critics claim, I find. Read the rest of this entry »
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2 Comments | Bogus history, Environmental protection, Ethics, History, Science, Voodoo history, Voodoo science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 16, 2007
From the Honolulu Advertiser:
Flags at half-staff today to mark ‘Peace Officers’ day
Advertiser Staff
Flags are flying at half-staff on state and county government buildings statewide because Gov. Linda Lingle has proclaimed today as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” in Hawai’i.
Lingle’s order is in conjunction with President Bush’s order that all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff today to honor the nation’s law enforcement officers. The governor also declared May 13-19 as “Police Week.”
Updated at 11:01 a.m., Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The rumor was that President Bush had ordered flags to half-staff for Jerry Falwell. Not so.
May 15 was Peace Officers Memorial Day, and President Bush ordered flags to be flown half-staff on that day. Police Week runs May 13-19.
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 15, 2007
Martin Luther, by Lucas Cranch
Wer nicht liebt Wein, Weib, und Gesang, Der bleibt ein Narr sein Lebenlang.
Who loves not wine, women and song, remains a fool his whole life long.
Attributed in Matthias Claudius, Der Wandsbecker Bothe (1775). Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 14, 2007
Some people do things that are so stupid that one wonders how they manage to shave or put make-up on the next morning, having to look at their own face.
Mugshot of Utah Rep. Rob Bishop
53 Republican representatives voted against naming the post office in Springdale, Pennsylvania, after Rachel Carson, the scientist who wrote Silent Spring, generally considered one of the most important or most influential scientists of the 20th century. No kidding. Springdale is Carson’s hometown.
2007 is the centennial of Carson’s birth — her birthday was May 27. (The bill, H.R. 1434, passed, 334-53.)
Why did the Wacky 53 vote against the honor for Carson, who got the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980? In an earnest ritual of voodoo science, they claim that bans on DDT kill millions, and that DDT is harmless. No, I’m not making this up — here’s the story from the Salt Lake Tribune, which covers territory represented by Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Chris Cannon, both R-Utah:
They contend that Carson’s actions – which led to a ban on the chemical DDT used to kill pests – actually has caused more deaths because of malaria and other diseases spread by insects. DDT, Carson wrote, was detrimental to the environment and to humans. Some scientists say DDT led to the California condor’s near-extinction.
Read the rest of this entry »
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15 Comments | Accuracy, Citizenship, DDT, Environmental protection, Ethics, Malaria, Politics, Rachel Carson, Science, Voodoo science, War on Science | Tagged: DDT, Dr. John Mull, Environmental protection, Malaria, Politics, Rachel Carson, Rampant stupidity, Rep. Rob Bishop, Voodoo science, War on Science, Weber State University | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 14, 2007
News out of Ames, Iowa, is that intelligent design advocate, physicist and astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, was denied tenure at Iowa State University.
Advocates of intelligent design will argue this as evidence of a bias against counter ideas, part of a massive, monolithic conspiracy to hide the truth about intelligent design. Gonzalez will be more circumspect, at least until his appeal of the tenure denial is finished.
Another friend of intelligent design, Dr. Francis Beckwith, a philosopher, was originally denied tenure at Baylor last year. His appeal was successful, however, and he now has tenure at Baylor, though he is moving from the Institute for Church State Relations to the philosophy department. Beckwith also made a splash in conservative evangelical news recently when he made public his return to the Catholic church.
I can’t speak for Iowa State, but it has been my experience that professors who get tangled up in crank science projects get distracted from the work that will get them tenure. While faculty certainly have free speech rights to advocate causes, much of the backing for intelligent design is sub-standard academically, or even bogus. Such advocacy does not help a case for tenure.
Advocates argue that Gonzalez has more than enough publications to meet the standards set by Iowa State, but the numbers do not account for how many of the publications may be in suspect journals that support intelligent design, nor do they account for the publicity an ardent ID advocate brings to a department which is often unwanted. Faculty at Iowa State collected 120 signatures on a petition disowning intelligent design, in what they billed was an attempt to convince the outside world that Iowa State is not “an intelligent design school.”
ID advocates frequently miss the point that science is not a game of racking up publication points, and that the quality and accuracy of the research also plays an important role in tenure decisions.
Wailing and gnashing, and perhaps rending of garments, from the ID group should begin any moment now.
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5 Comments | Creationism, Education, Intelligent Design, Research, Science, Science and faith, Teaching, Tenure | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 13, 2007
Odd thing happened the other day: The Philadelphia Inquirer carried an editorial that rather accurately described evolution theory. Just when I’m ready to lambaste my colleagues in print media, they come through.
The editorial’s point of departure was the Republican “debate” among presidential contenders, in which they were asked whether they support evolution or creationism. Three of the candidates confessed they don’t “believe” in evolution.
Why did these three, all of whom wish to be the leader of the most powerful country in history, say they did not believe in evolution? There might be thousands of reasons. Perhaps they misheard: “I’m just curious: Is there anyone on this stage who doesn’t believe in elocution?” But two reasons are more likely:
(1) They really don’t think evolution exists. As in, it’s not happening and never did. We got here some other way. There’s no evidence for it.
Uh, yeah, there is. Although technically a theory, Charles Darwin’s version of the evolution of species is a theory-with-the-status-of-fact, robust and vigorous, demonstrated in living color each and every day in field and laboratory everywhere. No jury is “out.” The verdict’s in and everybody’s gone home. Way home.
And,
(2) These men raised their hands because they knew it would get them votes from religious conservatives.
Tancredo, Huckabee and Brownback know they need the Christian conservative vote to win the Republican nomination. Christian conservatives don’t like Rudy Giuliani. They’re lukewarm on John McCain, perplexed by Mitt Romney.
But any candidate who would ignore science to attract conservative votes has made a lousy calculation.
The newspaper’s editorial board concluded:
So, while pundits are calling the evolution flap an embarrassment to the GOP, what it really is is a call to the Republican faithful: “We’re in trouble. If we don’t rally on the wedge issues now, by 2008, a Republican majority may seem as far away as the Planet of the Apes.”
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Leave a Comment » | Accuracy, Charles Darwin, Creationism, Darwin, Education, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Public education, Science, Science and faith, Voodoo science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 13, 2007
History Carnival 52 was up on May 1 at Clioweb. What sort of a fog have I been in? Check out especially this post at Food History, demonstrating several uses of critical thinking tools as they might analyze the bizarre idea that most meat in Middle Ages Europe was rancid, thereby leading to a rise in the use of spices. Spices don’t make up for stomach cramps, for example. There must be some sort of critical thinking exercise in there for a world history class.
Carnival of the Liberals 38 came online earlier this week, at This Is So Queer. With fires raging in the hills around Burbank — documented with eerily beautiful photography — a fire of war in Iraq, and a fire around the Second Amendment, posts collected at the carnival offer fuel for intellectual fires on big issues.
And, the venerable Carnival of Education, issue 118, was up earlier at NYC Educator, with good posts on laptops in school, parenting, administering, enduring, and everything else related to education. (Click on the photo for a larger image — it’s the historical marker at the former Robert R. Moton High School, in Prince Edward County, Virginia — where one of the most poignant of the cases against school segregation began, Davis vs. Prince Edwards County Schools — part of the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case decided in 1954. Photo from Virginia Commonwealth University.)
Carnival of Homeschooling 71 lolls, at On The Company Porch.
And, of course, if you wish to nominate a post for the next Fiesta de Tejas!, scheduled for June 2, just use this button:
Have a good Mother’s Day — call all the mothers you know. Why be picky?
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2 Comments | Education, Education blogs, Education reform, History, History blogs, Homeschooling, Pedagogy, Politics, Public education, Teaching, Technology, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 12, 2007
You want a memorial to Ray Charles, in your yard? 
American Forests will sell you a live oak tree propagated from the live oak Charles knew as a youth at his school, in St. Augustine, Florida. It’s part of their “Famous Trees” program.
We looked at a lot of famous trees, including Austin, Texas’s Treaty Oak, and the Wye Oak in Maryland, for our son’s Eagle Scout project at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, but utlimately found nothing exactly fitting. A school could have quite a forest of trees from Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, and now, Ray Charles.
Most trees are about $40.00. Will your PTA finance your planting a grove of historic trees at your school?
The Wye Oak, in its glory (prior to June 2002). Photo from Jeff Krueger’s Historic Trees Project, accessed May 12, 2007.
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 12, 2007
Labor is prior to, and independent of,capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could not have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
Lincoln in the Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861
The photograph shows Lincoln as president-elect; it is one of a series taken on February 23, 1861; from The History Place.
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Posted by Ed Darrell
May 12, 2007
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of trees have died in spring storms this year, from dramatically powerful wind bursts, tornadoes, or drowning or uprooting in floods. We lost only a small branch from our greatest red oak, but locally we lost hundred-year-old eastern red cedars, sizable live oaks, and dozens of hackberries (good riddance in most cases there!).
P. Z. Myers lost a massive branch from an even more massive weeping willow, up in Morris, Minnesota. In fear of the entire tree crashing down, with some sadness Myers had the tree removed. Willows are pretty trees in full health, but they are generally soft wood and a mess to have in an average yard. That the Myers willow grew so large is probably rare among willows. We should mourn such losses.
Trees are great things, providing us with shade and cooler microclimates in the summer, windbreaks, beauty in autumn and winter, sinks for our pollution, habitat for birds, etc., etc. I couldn’t help but think of Myers’ tree when I stumbled on this children’s book Regarding the Trees: A splintered saga rooted in secrets. The cover shows what must be a willow, under which a hundred people enjoy a grand party (click the image for a larger view from Amazon.com). 
This book and others by the same author and illustrator, the Klises, offer fine mysteries for elementary level readers to solve. They look like fun.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Armenian genocide, Books, Environmental protection, Libraries, Natural history, Newspapers, Pedagogy, Religious Freedom | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 11, 2007
Daily Kos I don’t get to daily. But here’s a post I did see that all history teachers ought to read, if only to raise their consciousness about the frauds that plague us every day: Help Fight Fake History that Powers the American Right.
Chris Rodda needs help supporting her research against all the old dogs of history revisionism, and the post from Troutfishing goes through most of the dishonor roll: D. James Kennedy, David Barton, Catherine Millard, and Chuck Norris
Rodda’s blog series can be found at Talk2Action.
My interest in getting history done right was kindled when high school teachers mentioned early versions of David Barton’s work — stuff that showed up on tests, though anyone who had read our texts and had a passing knowledge of real history would have known was in error. As a staffer in the U.S. Senate I had to got to read letters from people who bought the Barton tales lock, stock, and monkey barrel, and who consequently felt that everyone else on Earth was lying to them.
I wish Rodda luck.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
4 Comments | Accuracy, Bad Quotes, Bogus history, Capturing history, Citizenship, Current History, Curricula, Education, History, History Revisionism, Hoaxes | Tagged: Bogus history, Education, History, History Revisionism, Hoaxes, Quotes | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 11, 2007
74 journalists have died trying to get the news in Iraq since the U.S. invasion four years ago. Has any other war produced so many dead journalists, so fast? That number is about 16 per year.
The Newseum has a memorial to journalists who died trying to get the story. It contains just over 1,500 names, for wars from the War of 1812 to the present.
Each year, the Freedom Forum commemorates World Press Freedom Day by rededicating the Journalists Memorial, which pays tribute to reporters, editors, photographers and broadcasters who gave their lives reporting the news. On May 3, 2006, the names of 59 journalists who died or were killed while on assignment in 2005 were added to the glass panels of the memorial. The rededication ceremony featured remarks by David Westin, president of ABC News. The Journalists Memorial now honors 1,665 journalists who died covering the news from 1812 through 2005.
What is it about this war that makes it so much more deadly than other wars, for journalists? What does that say about the state of our world today, and the respect traditionally show to people who simply report what happens?
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Free press, Iraq, Journalism, Newspapers, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 11, 2007
Kids in schools have things in their ears. Between classes it’s earphones for iPods, MP3 players, CD players, cell phones that play music an video — and of course they try to stretch it into class, too. “If I can listen to my music in class, I won’t make trouble,” they say.
To which I respond, “I don’t deal with terrorists.”
The students are telling teachers something, and most of us are missing the message: We need to get education into their iPods and MP3 players.
For example, Nora’s itec 845 blog wonders about converting podcasts to print, for hearing-impaired students. Do you even have podcasts for classroom use or augmentation? (I wager this blog is a classroom assignment — students are working in areas their teachers don’t know anything about?)
Check out the Education Podcast Network. If your students told you they were getting information from this site, would you know whether it was quality information? Would you even know how to check?
Teachers should be using podcasts to deliver lectures, deliver supplementary material, to discuss homework, and to inform parents about homework and other activities. Are you using podcasts for any of that?
If you don’t think you’re missing the podcast boat, go here and see what some of the possibilities you’re missing really are: Around the Corner. Or, go there just to get ideas.
Hey, what are you waiting for?
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4 Comments | Pedagogy, Teaching, Technology, Technology in the classroom | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 