Guardian of the Non Sequitur

Presidential Aside: First Amendment

Q: What was the first amendment proposed to the United States Constitution?

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January 28th, 2008 Posted by bshirley | government, politics, presidents | no comments

Political Appointees Eviscerate Science

This is actually more of a free speech case. It’s disappointing on both levels.

I just found out that Ms. Chris Comer was forced to resign as the director of the Texas Education Agency. (I wished she would have forced a firing - but everyone much choose their own battles.) She was forced to step down for forwarding an email about a lecture.

Her interview on NPR’s Science Friday was horrifying to listen to. I had to respond to the chron’s Science Guy, who reads as defending the state’s stance, with the following:

Eric,
You’re going to invoke Richard Smalley, born in 1943 in Ohio, raised in Missouri, schooled at Hope College, University of Michigan, and Princeton - as proof that today’s state of public science education is healthy?

The mere fact that Ms. Comer was ejected from the Texas Education Agency under such ridiculous circumstances is case enough to state that there is a HUGE problem!

It’s also sad, that the link you had to provide was from the Austin American-Statesman, and a google searching of chron.com provides me a dead link.

Did the editorial board address this issue? Though it’s of minimal effect, it’s something they should have done!

I expect heads to roll over this. I will be sorely disappointed.

December 8th, 2007 Posted by bshirley | inthenews, media, politics, science | no comments

Tim Russert and UFOs

What was the deal with Tim Russert asking UFO questions to Dennis Kucinich during a presidential debate?  I certainly was asking myself that.  So was Senator Mike Gravel who is also a presidential candidate but was excluded from that same debate.

What’s up with the Democratic Party for allowing a network to exclude one of the candidates?

November 1st, 2007 Posted by bshirley | media, politics, television | 4 comments

Select a Candidate

A few days ago I was listening to a podcast while biking through Memorial Park all the way to the West Loop and in an extended PBS interview with Mike Gravel I was struck by how much I liked him (and of course how he had no chance in hell of being taken seriously, much less elected).

So, I was not surprised when he ended up at the top of the list after a short quiz on political views. There was also a perfect stratification of Dems at the Top and Reps at the bottom, with Ron Paul being the highest (R). It would have been interesting to have some 3rd party candidates in there, but with over a year until the election they’re not stupid enough to have any candidates yet (much less 10).

	Mike Gravel Score: 49	Agree Iraq Immigration Taxes Stem-Cell Research Health Care Abortion Social Security Marriage Death Penalty	Disagree Line-Item Veto Energy
	Chris Dodd Score: 49	Agree Immigration Taxes Stem-Cell Research Health Care Abortion Social Security Line-Item Veto Marriage Death Penalty	Disagree Iraq Energy
	Dennis Kucinich Score: 49	Agree Iraq Taxes Stem-Cell Research Health Care Abortion Social Security Line-Item Veto Marriage Death Penalty	Disagree Immigration Energy
– Take the Quiz! –

Here’s the entire list:
Mike Gravel - 49
Chris Dodd - 49
Dennis Kucinich - 49
Barack Obama - 42
Hillary Clinton - 42
Bill Richardson - 39
John Edwards - 36
Joe Biden - 32
Ron Paul - 28
Rudy Giuliani - 20
John McCain - 11
Mitt Romney - 10
Sam Brownback - 7
Jim Gilmore - 5

October 5th, 2007 Posted by bshirley | inthenews, meme, politics, web | 3 comments

Bye Rove

From the chron, David Corn:

But leaving is too good for Rove. He was Bush’s partner in the Iraq war, yet he [is] abandoning ship before the fight is done. Rove has argued that the Iraq war is essential for the survival of the United States. So how can he walk away with the war not won?

It is a mixed emotion to see Rove leave the White House. I certainly would have preferred it to happen years ago, and perhaps hanging from the gallows (or perhaps his own office ceiling, like a Chinese business man).

Just because he’s gone, doesn’t mean we can’t indict him for something.

August 14th, 2007 Posted by bshirley | government, inthenews, politics | one comment

You Got Your Politics in My Fluff

No, you got your Fluff in my Politics…

I was cracking open my morning paper to get to the crossword. Usually Monday and Tuesday is crossword day, and Wednesday-Friday are sudoku days. The crossword is in the Houston Chronicle’s “Star” section – it doesn’t have a title on the front, just a star. It’s the “fluff” section, where you go for comics, television and movie listings, and today, the lead article on doggie day care.

So, I’m making my way to the back and I find as the token article on page five (smashed in with movie times and box office returns) an article by Leonard Pitts Jr. I couldn’t find it on the chron web site, so rechecked the print version. It doesn’t list his affiliation but does have his email at herald.com. So, I did find the article on the Miami Herald’s site.

It’s a scathing indictment of the Bush administration (which admittedly is an easy thing to write these days). But I think the fact that it’s oozed into the entertainment section of the newspaper is telling of how despicable this administration has been.

Two great tastes that taste great together: Fluff and Politics.

(cached here for completeness)

The Bush presidency: Is nothing real?

By LEONARD PITTS JR.

Richard Nixon was a crook. He was also a liar and anti-Semite who sought to subvert the Constitution.

I wish he were president again. (more…)

July 16th, 2007 Posted by bshirley | government, inthenews, politics | 4 comments