Ph.D v. algebra flunkie

A comment from the Vatican's astronomer: Truth does not contradict truth. (Detroit Free Press, Sunday, October 11)


Governator signed a gay-friendly bill and opponents claim it will lead to homo indoctrination in schools. Wait… I thought we busted that menace with the marriage ban. They wouldn't be projecting, would they?


An evangelical bigot sees the light. Once he walked away from rejection and condemnation he found his relationship with God became much deeper. He saw with greater clarity what love and compassion were all about. That deeper relationship with God also brought great pain as he realized to what extent his faith had brought great harm to others. Though he never inflicted a physical blow, his attitudes contributed to a climate in which, among other things, suicide was the way to bring peace to a tortured gay teen.


The approval rating for the Supremes is up. Half of surveyed Americans think the Supremes are in a Goldilocks position: not too liberal, not too conservative. The GOP thinks the court is too liberal, Dems think it's about right. And that for a court that is ready to roll back the Warren Court gains (though with a tablespoon, not a wrecking ball)? What gives? Partly, the Sotomayor hearings this summer convinced the public that the court is heading leftward, even though she is a bit to the right of the justice she replaced. Another part is that in the big civil rights cases last year the Supremes ruled very narrowly, leaving most of liberal rulings intact. See the comment about the tablespoon. But with the cases coming up this term the Supremes will reveal themselves soon enough.


We have some brilliant people working on climate change, alternative energy, and other scientific issues. So why are we making so little political headway? All these people with Ph.Ds are up against protesters who can't pass algebra -- and who think they're smarter than the experts. Alas, the noise can make the scientists timid. It allows actual corporate opponents to raise FUD -- fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Sure, the new stuff is greener, but it's still risky and it would cost too much to switch. Better to play it safe. Alas, that allows the rest of the world to zip past us. The solar experts are Japan and China. Wind experts are in Germany. Nuclear experts are in France. Don't look for a sputnik moment.