The February 17th edition of Good Planets is now available. Go check out some beautiful photography of our little planet.
New Mars Pictures Show Signs of Watery “Aquifers”: “Stunning color pictures from Mars offer new evidence that plentiful groundwater once percolated through Martian bedrock.” I suspect we may yet discover hidden sources of water on Mars and, more importantly, signs that the red planet once hosted at least microbial life.
You know how anyone who voices dissent toward Dubya’s policies is labeled a seditious traitor by the wackos on the right? Besides turning their backs on one of the greatest freedoms for which America stands, they’re also too busy attacking true patriots to notice the devil in their own ranks. “Terrorism charges brought Friday against the administrator of a loan investment program claimed that he secretly tried to send $152,000 to the Middle East to buy equipment such as night vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. [. . .] The indictment said Alishtari tried to support terrorists between June and December by accepting an unspecified amount of money to transfer $152,000 that he believed was being sent to Pakistan and Afghanistan to support an Afghanistan terrorist training camp. [. . .] CBS News has confirmed that Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party, as he claims on his curriculum vitae. Alishtari gave $15,500 to the National Republican Campaign Committee between 2002 and 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records. That amount includes $13,000 in 2003, a year when he claims to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year. Alishtari also claims to be a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee’s Inner Circle, which the NRCC describes as ‘an impressive cross-section of American society – community leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, retirees, and sports and entertainment celebrities – all of whom hold a deep interest in our nation’s prosperity and security.'” Um… oops.
This is so pathetic. It’s the results from a Gallup poll that asked: “If your party nominated a generally well-qualified candidate for [the White House in 2008] who was ___, would you vote for that person?” The blank was filled by things like ‘Catholic,’ ‘Homosexual,’ ‘A woman,’ ‘Hispanic,’ and ‘Atheist.’ The results are… well, they’re typical for a nation filled with bigots and radical religious nuts and intolerant assholes. Take a look for yourself.
Oops! – Weirdest Accidents: It’s an interesting pictorial review of some rather bizarre vehicular predicaments. Each picture elicited the same response: “How’d they manage that?”
On Thursday I noted a powerful Texas politician had circulated a memo from a Georgia politician that advocated violating science by pushing creationism into schools while simultaneously quelling support for evolution (in other words, the bonehead wanted to betray science and make public schools institutions of mythology and voodoo). Well, interestingly enough, Texas’ House Appropriations Chairman and Republican Warren Chisum never actually read the material he circulated. Had he read it, he would have realized it was full of anti-Semitic bigotry. To wit: “On Tuesday, the Pampa Republican distributed a memo written by Georgia GOP Rep. Ben Bridges to Texas House members’ mailboxes. The memo advocated that schools stop teaching evolution and contained links to a Web site that warns of international Jewish conspiracies. [. . .] The memo points to ‘indisputable evidence’ that ‘evolution science has a very specific religious agenda’ and refers readers to a Web site that asserts the universe revolves around the earth. It also suggests that Jewish physicists are part of the force behind a ‘centuries-old conspiracy’ to destroy the Christian teachings of Earth’s origins.” What an idiot!
Faith, hope, love and contrition: It’s a copy of a letter written by a conservative Christian who for many years practiced religious bigotry against homosexuals. While I’m not religious, I found the letter quite moving. This happens to be one man who actually read and understood the Bible. No matter your beliefs, I think you’ll find his note full of promise and heartfelt understanding of his own hateful past.