Monthly Archives: October 2008

Science groups advise and urge next president re: science advisor

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

Science Advice for the Next President:
Nearly 180 organizations representing the interdependent arenas of science, academia and business are urging the next president to appoint a White House science adviser by Inauguration Day and give the position cabinet-level rank. In letters sent Thursday to Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama, the organizations said scientific and [...]

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Disney-Pixar bumps up ‘UP’ release date

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

The forthcoming Disney-Pixar movie UP has had it’s release date bumped up from June 12, 2009 to May 29, 2009. Hey — two weeks is two weeks!
They also have a proper site for the movie now UP : The Official Website. This site is, at this point, little more than a teaser for [...]

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Supremes Court upholds stopping in the name of love

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

The Onion:
WASHINGTON—After months of deliberation, the Supremes Court, the soulful judicial body that oversees federal matters of the heart, issued a historic decision in the case of Holland v. Baby, Baby, opting to uphold the practice of stopping in the name of love by a 2-1 vote.

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Joe the Plumber no longer upset by media attention

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

I mean, I guess. Why else would Joe the Plumber hire a management and publicity team?
Who can blame him? Beats working for a living…
Besides, he had to do something to try to get into the appropriate tax bracket so that his “remarks” about Obama’s tax plan will ring true. You know, it [...]

Posted in Humor, Politics, Psychology / Human Nature | 1 Comment

Best lines and worse gaffes of Campaign ‘08

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

Some of my favorites from the Politico article:
BEST LINES

Barack Obama:

“John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell — but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.”
“The old boys’ network? In the McCain campaign, that’s called a staff meeting.”

John McCain:

“Sen. Obama, I’m not President Bush. … [...]

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Nature: America’s Choice

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

The prominent, if not preeminent, science journal Nature:
There is no open-and-shut case for preferring one man or the other on the basis of their views on these matters. This is as it should be: for science to be a narrow sectional interest bundled up in a single party would be a terrible thing. Both sides [...]

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George Will on McCain and campaign finance

By thecodepounder | Published October 31, 2008

George F. Will, not exactly a member of what my own brother likes to refer to as the “liberal intelligencia”, in his Washington Post column, Call Him John the Careless:
Why is it virtuous to erect a dam of laws to impede the flow of contributions by which citizens exercise their First Amendment right to political [...]

Posted in Freedoms / Rights, Government / Law, Politics, Psychology / Human Nature | Leave a comment

Palin: It would be nice if they would at least interview me

By thecodepounder | Published October 30, 2008

In an unattributed story at FoxNews.com entitled Win or Lose, Palin Is Not Going Away, the following appears:
Over the last week, Palin’s relationship with the McCain campaign has been the focus of intense scrutiny. In various reporting, she has been described as “rogue”; called a “whack job”; accused of alienating everyone on the McCain campaign [...]

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Quote of the day

By thecodepounder | Published October 30, 2008

Why would an omniscient god need to test anyone’s faith?
– anonymous

Posted in Psychology / Human Nature, Quotes, Religion, Skepticism / Rational-Critical Thought | Leave a comment

Hubble Space Telescope is up and back in business

By thecodepounder | Published October 30, 2008

Good news.  After nearly a month of down-time, I had the idea this one was going to end bad.

Posted in History, Science, Space, Technology | Leave a comment

Barack Obama on The Daily Show

By thecodepounder | Published October 30, 2008

Senator Barack Obama appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart yesterday:
“I think that there’s a certain segment of hardcore Sean Hannity fans that probably wouldn’t want to go have a beer with me — there’s no doubt about that. But I think for the average voter, they’re saying to themselves, ‘What’s all this stuff [...]

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Oh no Joe! Joe the Plumber is no stumper; stands up McCain

By thecodepounder | Published October 30, 2008

Oops:
McCain aides told CNN’s Dana Bash Wurzelbacher would appear with the Republican presidential candidate at his first campaign event in Defiance, Ohio. But in what was a slightly awkward moment for McCain, Wurzelbacher was nowhere to be seen when the Arizona senator called out for him.
A campaign aide later said Wurzelbacher had “decided not to [...]

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