Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Bill Clinton

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, former President Clinton blasted Mitt Romney for Romney’s refusal to acknowledge climate change:

“He [Romney] ridiculed the president — ridiculed the president for his efforts to fight global warming in economically beneficial ways. He [Romney] said “Oh, you’re going to turn back the seas."

In my part of America [NYC], we would like it if someone could’ve done that yesterday.”

There is a 95% + consensus amongst climatologists that anthropogenic climate change is not only real, but stunningly dangerous to survival on planet Earth. And still, Big Oil--Fossil Fuels [thank you, Koch brothers] has sold America the idea that it doesn’t exist. And this industry has been criminally aided and abetted by Republicans.

Morning Quote: Rick Santorum

“One of the favorite things of the left is to use your sentimentality, and your proper understanding and belief that we are stewards of this earth and we have a responsibility to hand off a beautiful earth to the next generation. 'They use that and they have used it in the past to try to scare you into supporting radical ideas on the environment. They tried it with this idea, this politicization of science called man-made global warming... I stood up and fought against those things. Why? Because they will destroy the very foundation of prosperity in our country.”

- Rick Santorum characterizes climate change as a plot of the left, and claims that actually dealing with climate change as though, you know its real, will destroy the “very foundation of prosperity in our country”.

Morning Quote: Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman, from his column “Republicans Against Science”:

“ The odds are that one of these years the world’s greatest nation will find itself ruled by a party that is aggressively anti-science, indeed anti-knowledge. And, in a time of severe challenges — environmental, economic, and more — that’s a terrifying prospect. ”

Terrifying indeed.

Quote of the Day

The very conservative Washington Post columnist, Charles Krauthammer, on Jon Huntsman:

“Huntsman is a liberal's idea of what a Republican ought to be.”

Well, okay. Is there something “liberal” about wanting any candidate for high office to have some common sense and a belief in science?

Quote of the Day

Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, riffing on his GOP rivals (Gov. Rick Perry in particular) on global warming and evolution:

“The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party -- the anti-science party, we have a huge problem.  We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012.”

Right.

The Republican Party crossed that line, and is the anti-science party. That fact has already become universally known.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, caused an internet sensation on Friday with this tweet:

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”

How far out of line are most of the Republican candidates when simply speaking common sense on matters of science can cause a massive explosion on a social network? Something to think about. 

Awesome Images: Partial Eclipse of the Midnight Sun

NASA’s photo of the day by Catalin Beldea. An image of the partial eclipse of the midnight sun taken in Finland on June 1. Beautiful.

On June 1, the shadow of the New Moon was cast across a land of the midnight Sun in this year's second partial solar eclipse. This picture of the geocentric celestial event above the Arctic Circle was taken near midnight from northern Finland's Kaunispää Hill in Lapland. Of course the region's reindeer were able to watch as both Moon and Sun hugged the northern horizon just above a cloud bank. Also visible from parts of Alaska and Canada, the eclipse began at sunrise in Siberia and northern China at 19:25 UT, ending about 3.5 hours later north of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean. Remarkably, just one lunation later, on July 1 the New Moon's shadow will again reach out and touch the Earth in a partial solar eclipse, limited in visibility to a relatively small area in the Antarctic Ocean. July's eclipse will be followed by the fourth and final partial solar eclipse of 2011 on November 25. That eclipse will be seen from a southern land of the midnight Sun.

H/T Maddow Blog

Scientist Accuses Michigan GOP Legislators of Harassing Stem Cell Researchers

One of the nation’s foremost experts in embryonic stem  cell research, and the director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Michigan, Sean J. Morrison, has leveled an accusation of harassment at the Michigan legislature and faith-based groups.

Morrison is leaving Michigan to head up a new pediatric research initiative at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, and took the opportunity to slam both faith-based groups and Michigan’s GOP legislators:

“There are a small number of faith-based special interest groups that are attacking relentlessly. Relentlessly looking for ways to block these forms of medical research most people in the country feel should be supported,” he said. “They’re well-enough organized and sophisticated and have deep-enough pockets. What that means is we are constantly under attack.”

Morrison was a vocal leader in the successful effort to pass Proposition 2, the 2008 amendment to the state Constitution that allows embryonic stem cell research in Michigan. Leading up to the vote, he testified before lawmakers on the potential of the research and gave media interview after media interview explaining the science.

Since 2008, lawmakers and conservative-leaning groups have attempted to undermine the change, he said in an interview Wednesday.

The latest attempt is a set of new reporting requirements for embryonic stem cell research, which was tacked onto the higher education budget bill.

“It’s a way of making it more difficult for the University of Michigan,” he said. “And it’s unfortunate, because U-M is a spectacular place, and it’s a terrific environment in which to do research, but there are lots of ways in which the Legislature holds this place back.”

Perhaps the GOP should reactivate the use of the scarlet letter, only instead of an “A” for adultery, they can make it an “S” for scientist and tattoo the foreheads of scientists they disagree with. I feel fairly certain that We’d have damn near every scientist in the country wearing that letter on his/her forehead.