And in the height of the Australian summer, on the eve of Australia Day, that’s what I’m basking in – all things Australian.

When we moved to Britain in 2005, I made the mistake of hanging on to lots of trappings of ‘home’. I took comfort in things American. I basked in my very different-ness. And I spent three of the four years we were there hating the place. In that last year, I finally sought what made Britain so, well, Great. Just as I figured it out and came to love the place, it was time to go.

So, this time around I’m leaving all that American nonsense behind. Yes, I am an American. Never try to hide it. But barring anything unforseen and earth shattering, I’m going to be an American living in Australia. My boys are going to be raised as Australians and I’m going to do my best to insure that they get the best of that.

We’re Australians.

And every day that I listen to the news from the country of my birth, I’m more convinced that this is a good thing.

Like tens of millions of other Americans, I got infected with Obama fever back in 2008. Full of his particular brand of Hope™, I bought into the idea of a transformative politician that would take my creaking country forward into a new progressive behemoth. Tears rolled down my cheeks when his victory was announced. I walked a little straighter as an American abroad after that, full of hope and pride in my country.

A year later, I feel worse that I did at the height of the Second Bush Dynasty.

Worse, because I’ve come to realize that Obama, like Clinton before him, has chosen to govern as a “pragmatic” centrist. That despite all the high flying rhetoric, he has to deal with the same right wing opposition that Clinton had to deal with and as a result, nothing truly transformative is going to get done.

Worse because I now realize how nasty some of my countrymen can be. Worse because I realize that despite massive majorities in two of the three branches of government, real change is not an option in American politics. Worse because I see the vitriol becoming more vitriolic, the polarization becoming more polarized, the black becoming more black, the white becoming more white and the gray? What gray?

I feel worse because I know that any kind of real health care reform is dead. That the system is rigged against real change. That banks and insurance companies and investment firms are more important to those who govern – Republican or Democrat – than you are. Beautifully illustrated by the Supreme Court granting huge multinational corporations the same rights as you and I. And guaranteeing America’s fate as an oligarchy. “Jennifer Government“. Read it. It’s our – well, your – future.

I feel worse as I realize that the nasty, hate infused post-9/11 nationalism wasn’t just a passing trend. That it has blossomed into a particularly vicious sort of populism that loathes the ‘elite’, the educated, the thoughtful, the well-spoken. A sort of populism that feeds on sound bites and half truths and ignorance.

I feel worse because nothing ever changes. Because Barack Obama is no different that George II, Slick Willie, George I or Crazy Ronnie. Because the system is rigged.

I feel worse because I can’t go ‘home’ again. That I’ve had a taste of the alternative and it’s too sweet on my palate to give up. I spent 33 years as an American in America, becoming more and more frustrated and disillusioned. Feeling more and more powerless. Now every day I’m gone, I feel lighter. Happier. I can watch American politics from afar with mild amusement. I can enjoy it for it’s entertainment value. It’s the best reality TV show that nobody has thought to produce.

When it doesn’t affect you.

Go ‘home’ again?

Nope, I’ll take my adopted Antipodean island. I’ll take her languid climate and her blithe people. I’ll take her byzantine cricket and her bizarre ‘football’. I’ll take her dotty, drunken politics and her genial socialism. I’ll take her genial patriotism and inflated sense of international importance. Hell, I’ll even take her unfortunate penchant for mullets and coupe utility vehicles. Because it is summertime in Australia and the living is easy.

I’ve probably managed to piss off my American readers and offend my Australian readers. Ah well, what the hell. I’m going to the beach before the cricket starts and I have to fire up the barbie.

Happy Australia Day.

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John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” is available from .

I used to indulge on long road trips. They were great for driving, kept you alert and entertained while undertaking the innately dull task of racing down the interstate from point A to point B. And as someone who suffered with occasional asthma throughout my twenties, it was easy to use the old ‘medicinal purposes’ justification. They weren’t without their side effects however, after a long night with a bottle of Mini Thins things like insomnia, agitation, irritability, dry mouth, sweating, and heart palpitations were not uncommon.

And not surprising, considering ephedrine is pretty much an amphetamine. And as with all good things, the days of cheap trucker speed at the gas station came to an end. Ephedrine containing products became increasingly difficult to obtain through the 90’s and now are available only with a prescription in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. This is largely because ephedrine can be used as a precursor in the production of methamphetamine – crystal meth – which became the drug to panic and rend our garments about in the Naughties. All the meth-induced panic resulted in the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act which was passed as an amendment to the renewal of the Patriot Act in 2006. Basically, it resulted in tight regulations on any ephedrine or pseudoephedrine containing product. The effect of the regulation is that most of your over the counter allergy and cold medicine were sequestered behind the counter and if one bought too much Sudafed, one’s name was passed on to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Shortly thereafter, one’s meth lab was probably shut down by heavily armed men while one was handcuffed face down in some Missouri trailer park.*

The idea, of course, is that if the meth manufacturers can’t get the chemicals that they need to make their product then methamphetamine will disappear from the world. Crime will become a thing of the past, tweaked out teens will become Rhodes Scholars and money will grow on trees. Perfect world.

I’m not much into drugs anymore. Quite the contrary, in fact, these daysI tend to just say no. However, that abstinence has nothing to do with Nancy Reagan or  any of the other attempts by the powers that be to convince me that drugs are wrong or their endless ‘War on Drugs’. It has nothing to do with prohibition or criminalization or heavy handed enforcement. These things don’t work. They haven’t worked in the last several decades and they aren’t going to work in the next several. No matter how illegal you make them or how many people you put in jail or how hard you make it to acquire drugs, a certain number of people are going to use them and a subset of those people are going to abuse them. All the time, money and energy would be better spent on treating addicts and attempting to get them clean. We have a problem that no matter how hard we hit it isn’t going to go away.

When I heard about the pseudophedrine and ephedrine regulations, I was pretty confident that  keeping Sudafed behind the counter at the Wal-Mart was  going to have approximately no effect on crystal meth production and distribution. It was just another prohibition effort. And now, a few years later, I’ve got the facts to support that hypothesis. A group led by Russell Callaghan of the Canadian Center for Addiction and Mental Health asked whether these types of regulations were doing any good. Their results, published this month in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, suggest that this policy is just the latest failure in the endless war on drugs.

Like the U.S., Canada began to regulate the import and export of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine in January of 2003 and the domestic distribution of those compounds in July of the same year. They then took the further step of regulating the import and export of other essential chemicals used in the processing of methamphetamine in January of 2004. Callaghan and his colleagues asked what effects, if any, these regulations have had on methamphetamine-related emergency room admissions, a fairly good indicator of your population’s drug problem. As a comparison, they also looked at the number of cocaine, heroin and alcohol related ER admissions in the same period of time.

What they found is, to me, not surprising. The January 2003 import/export regulations had no impact on meth related ER admissions. However, the July 2003 domestic distribution regulations on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and the January 2004 regulations on the import of meth processing chemicals were associated with 20% and 21% increases in meth related ER admissions respectively. During the same time period the number of emergency room visits due to cocaine, alcohol and heroin did not change.

In short, policies of prohibition have certainly not reduced methaphetamine use in Canada and in the time since their enactment, there have been significant increases in the number of meth related injuries. Now obviously this study addresses the problem in Canada, and in some ways it is understandable that if you spend your life in some rest stop of a town on the frozen plains of Saksatchewan or Manitoba that you may want a bit of a pick me up, but it is also safe to assume that similar regulations in other countries are as effective as those in Canada. Regulating ephedrine and pseudoephedrine is simply not effective in reducing methaphetamine use.

A good question is why not? If you can eliminate production why wouldn’t meth use drop? Short answer – you aren’t eliminating production. Callaghan hypothesises that the increases may be due to the replacement of small-scale producers – the folks making meth in their shed – by international criminal organizations that don’t buy their chemicals at the local drug store. This shift in production may have resulted in an increase in meth supply rather than the intended reduction. With the increase in quantity, there is likely to be a decrease in both price and quality as well. More meth, cheaper meth, impure meth.

Whatever the reason, this is just another example of a failed policy of prohibition and criminalization. It isn’t working. Governments around the world have been losing the War on Drugs for decades and it is time for a cease fire. I don’t know what the road forward is, I’m not that smart. I don’t actually think it would be a great idea to make hardcore drugs like methamphetamine, heroin and the like completely legal. But I am smart enough to know that the road we’re currently driving on is going nowhere.

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*Just to clarify, this has never happened to me personally. I messed around with meth a bit, but it wasn’t really my thing. I was (and still am) a terrible middle class snob and always consider meth to be a white trash drug. But for a while, I lived next door to a meth dealer who used to give me free samples in order to keep me from calling the police. I’m not too snobby to turn down free drugs.

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Alt-country supergroup Golden Smog featured members of The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum and Wilco. Their 1996 record “Down By The Old Mainstream” is rollicking alt country gold. As a Wilco fan, the songs with Jeff Tweedy at the mic are my favorites – particularly this one.

Buy “Down By The Old Mainstream” from .

Image credits:

Pharmacist

Crystal Meth

But I was back at work for half a day today, which allowed me to clear the cobwebs from my head. With that clarity, I’ve decided that rather than posting cute photos of my sons or moaning about the hardships of life as a father of two, today I want to talk about race.

Yes, I know that after that prelude, I’ve gone and posted a picture of my kids. I was trying to get a good picture of my study, where I do a fair bit of my writing, for a different post – one that I’m no longer interested in writing. I decided to take this shot, however, as an illustration of why it is essentially impossible for me to work from home right now. Creaking bed springs and gurgling baby are not sounds conducive to writing a lecture on human evolution or a report on a new cancer drug.

Your eye was probably immediately drawn to the two flags on the wall and they are what I want to talk about.

My friend Jamie and I liberated the flag on the right, the banner of the State of Florida, from St. George Island State Park during a drug fueled midnight run to New Orleans. I’m pretty sure that we broke both state and federal laws that night and that’s one of the reasons I’m happy to be living outside the reach of the Florida and U.S. criminal justice systems. However, I’d be happy to assist authorities in the apprehension of my accomplice, who was in fact the criminal mastermind. And a Florida Gator fan, which ought to be a crime.

But let’s be honest, if you’re American your eye was drawn to the flag on the left. The old Georgia flag featuring the Confederate battle flag – one of the most potent and divisive symbols that we’ve got in the States. You were probably thinking to yourself,  “Well, I’ll be damned. I know A Free Man has a penchant for college football, but I didn’t realize he was a redneck. A racist. A (shudder) Republican.”

One of the things I don’t miss about the USA is societally mandated political correctness. American society has become so precious about race, gender, disabilities, religion, etc. that it was like a breath of fresh air when I landed in the slightly less PC United Kingdom and dramatically less PC Australia. It’s not that I want to walk the streets spouting racist or sexist diatribes. It has just gone too far in the United States. Gone so far, that a bad joke can get someone fired and exiled from polite society. Gone so far, that we’ve become humourless as a culture.

Gone so far, that legitimate political opposition to a black president is presumed to rooted in racism.

I don’t like the Far Right. I disagree with almost everything that they believe in. But they absolutely have the right to criticize the President. The same way that I, as a radical leftist, had the right to criticize President Bush. I’m sure there are some pissed off white supremacists out there who hate the president because he’s black. But most of the detractors on the right have, in their mind, legitimate political disagreements with Obama. Yes, some of them are being nasty and some are being dishonest. But I think back to 2002-3 when I began to realize that Bush was an incompetent at best or a liar at worse. I wasn’t very nice about him. Nor were a lot of the bomb throwers on the Left. But that had nothing to do with the fact that Bush was a white, Protestant from Texas. Just like the vast majority of the teabaggers’ problems don’t stem from President Obama’s skin color. Let’s get real.

But we need to talk about that Georgia flag. I bought it in 2001 after the state, under heavy political pressure, replaced it with a tepid politically neutral compromise. I picked it up, because at the time I thought Georgia was being cowardly by surrendering to the moral majority of the left – the forces of political correctness. And it was an incredibly unpopular decision in the state, leading to the election of the current governor – Sonny “Praying for Rain” Perdue. (Probably time to get off your knees, governor.) Perdue held a referendum which resulted in the replacement of one Confederate symbol with another one.

I never really ‘flew’ the flag when I was still living in the States. I’m sensitive to the divisiveness of the battle flag and the statement that it makes about an individual who displays it. But that has always annoyed me. Why does it mean I’m a racist if I choose to hang that flag on my wall? I’m kind of an amateur U.S. Civil War history buff and I’ve always had more sympathy for the Confederacy than the Union. I admired the spirit of the rebellious South, their gallant military leaders, their unwillingness to accept the reality that their lifestyle was untenable and their revolution was doomed.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m an advocate of slavery or even racial segregation. And, when it came down to brass tacks, that is what the Confederacy was about – the continuation of slavery. Unfortunately, the symbols of the Confederacy are inextricably tied up with racism.

Ignoring that part of Georgia’s past is nothing more than historical denial. The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and the battles over segregation are part of what Georgia and the rest of the South are today. I don’t know if you need to fly the Confederate battle flag in front of the state house, but banishing it from the public eye doesn’t do any good either. One could argue that Georgia and the other ten states of the old Confederacy should be required to fly the battle flag lest they forget. It is so oft cited that is almost cliche, but George Santayana’s most famous quote rings true again – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Today, I don’t know what that flag means to me. I don’t know why, when I pulled it out of a box of stuff we had shipped from the U.S. to the U.K. to Australia, I decided to hang it on the wall of my study. I like it. It doesn’t bear the heavy burdens here in Australia that it does in the U.S.  It reminds me of the five years I spent in Athens in the late 90’s. It reminds me that political correctness is a blunt, ineffective instrument for changing public opinion. But it also serves to remind me of the shameful legacy of race relations in a part of the United States that I love, both despite and because of its history.

It does not, however, mean that I’m a racist. Or a redneck. Or a Republican.

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The coolest man in Country, Dwight Yoakam’s classic 1988 LP “Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room” is available from .

Flag images from Wikipedia.

Probably a good thing, as the day of the DJ is long gone and I don’t really have the stomach to be a talk radio host. You see, after a week spent listening to Savage and Levin, I was all prepared to come out today guns a-blazing in my best impression of a talk jock. I was ready to spew vitriol and poorly researched opinions masked as fact. I was poised to skewer the American health care disaster, was itching to tear down the lies that have been spread surrounding tax rates in countries with socialized health care, was formulating a conceit about the mythical ‘Middle Class’ in America.

But then as I was walking to catch the bus this morning I asked myself “What’s the point?”

When I write political rants I basically only get myself upset. For the most part I’m preaching to the choir and if you disagree with me I’m not arrogant enough to believe that you’re going to change your mind. What’s the point? Post another picture of the boy and move on.

I mean, I know that I pay a lower tax rate in Australia (26% versus 28% plus) then I would (and did) in the US. It’s hard to gauge the quality of health care, but I know that the infant mortality rate is lower in Britain (4.8 per 1,000) and Australia (4.4) than it is in the US (6.3). I also know that life expectancy is higher in Britain (77.7) and Australia (79.8) than it is in the US (76.1). I know that, if you’re an American taxpayer, you’re getting screwed – that most of your taxes are going to pay for a ridiculously bloated and largely unnecessary military rather than the basic necessities for your survival. I know that I’ve gotten outstanding, compassionate medical care in all three countries. I know that the only difference is that in Australia and Britain I don’t pay for it and they make house calls.

I know all these things because I’ve experienced all three systems. I know what I prefer and I know that I wouldn’t even consider moving back to my homeland unless they sorted out the health care mess. I would much rather pay taxes that get reinvested in the health care system than pay insurance premiums that just line the pockets of insurance company executives. I can’t imagine going back to the States and relying on the fickle rules of some insurance company or my employment status for my son’s well being.

It’s not just health care – there’s education. In the Western European style social democracies, one of the responsibilities of the government is to offer affordable tertiary education to those who desire and have earned the opportunity. Therefore, university costs are heavily subsidized. In fact, a university education was free until very recently in the UK.The cost of a college education has skyrocketed in the last couple of decades in the U.S., pricing a lot of people out of the market and leaving the rest massively in debt after four years. I know from first-hand experience. It’s important to me that my kids have a shot at a university education, but another reason I would be reluctant to return to the States is that we should have started saving about five years ago in order to pay for it.

Let’s assume, as Dr. O’C prays, that Boy Z becomes a scholar. What would it cost to send him to the finest higher education institution in the three countries under discussion? We’ll focus on public institutions*, assume resident tuition and include all estimated living costs (food, housing, etc. all in U.S. dollars). To get a Bachelor’s degree from Oxford University would cost us about $45,000. The same degree from the Australian National University in Canberra would leave us about $41,000 poorer. But, if Boy Z decided to head to the Sodom of the Left Coast and got his degree from UC Berkeley, we’d be $114,000 in debt.  Even if he went to my alma mater, the finest university in the South – The University of Georgia, we’d still be down $68,000.

I’ve gone further with this than I intended – but with less ranting than originally planned at least. And this is where I ask again – what’s the point? If you’re reading this and aren’t living in Britain or Australia (or Canada or Sweden or France or Germany or Latvia or basically any other industrialized country) and you’re now convinced that a touch of socialism is a good thing, chances are you’re not packing your bags.

I guess the point is that the people who are telling you that socialized medicine doesn’t work are either liars or idiots. Or both. The people who are teabagging and telling you that higher taxes will break the back of the middle class are either dangerously deceitful or morons. The fact of the matter is that you, those of you who are residents of the US, are getting the shaft.

To be 100% honest, I really don’t think it’s going to change. This idea – that taxes and government are bad – is so ingrained in the American psyche that I don’t believe even the new administration with Democratic majorities in both houses is going to be able to sort it out. I did the same thing that a lot of you did – 52% in fact – voted for Obama and hoped that he would be able to change what is a broken system. I know it’s early, I know he has a year or so to take the big steps that need to be taken before the 2010 congressional races start up.

But listening to these guys on the Right and listening to the people that call in to their shows, I just don’t think it is going to happen.

Well, there’s some upbeat Friday reading for you, gentle readers. Y’all have a good weekend, you hear?

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* Just for kicks, I checked out Harvard – $208, 000.

The Killers’ “Hot Fuss” is a great record and is available from .

Image credits:

Maypole

Socialism cartoon

Socialism poster

No, thank you for screwing up the country so badly that we were willing to take a shot on this guy.

In your own way, Mr. President – unintentionally no doubt – you made the country willing to do something historic, something optimistic, something courageous. Something hopeful.

That being said, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

I’ve been a little unenthusiastic about the inaugaration. Seems a bit inappropriate to be spending millions for parades and balls at a time like this. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good work day for a new president who the country – even the world – is imploring to straighten things out. But listening to the podcast of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC this evening reminded me of the way I felt on November 5 and just what it will mean when Barack Obama takes the oath later today. So, let’s enjoy it. But come Wednesday morning, Mr. President, it’s time to get to work. You got my vote to do a job – a huge job, thanks to the previous employee. It’s time to get down to business.

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Dangermouse and Gemini’s “Ghetto Pop Life” is available from .

Image Credits:

George Bush

Barack Obama

I’ve been pretty hard on the American Dream lately, have made statements about it being a myth or a fantasy or available only beyond America’s shores. But as Barack Obama started his speech last night, as the first black president of the United States took the stage, I realized that I was wrong. The election results last night exorcised the demons of slavery and racial discrimination from the America soul. It gave me hope that my homeland is making a transition after eight years of disastrous foreign and domestic policy and is on its way to being a country to which I could imagine returning one day.

But…

But, I am extremely disheartened about some of the results last night. The Alaska senate race is laughable as it seems a convicted criminal has been elected to represent them in the United States Senate. Is there any way that we could convince Alaska to secede.  This stands in stark contrast to a senate election in Missouri in 2000 in which Missouri repudiated the wing nut John Ashcroft in favor of a dead man.

What I am most unhappy about, however, are four ballot measures. Three of them, in Arizona, California and (predictably) Florida, banned gay marriage in those states. The worst, however, was in Arkansas where the voters opted to ban adoption by gay couples. I had hoped that we were past this kind of hatred as a nation. I had hoped that the election of a black man to the highest office in the land meant that we were rejecting prejudice and discrimination. But it seems that it is still acceptable to discriminate against homosexuality. It is still acceptable to hate gays and refuse them the rights that are available that happened to be born with a certain combination of alleles.

Well, shame on us. When are we going to grow up? When are we going to stop saying, “Ewww, homos! I don’t like them.” What difference does it make to heterosexual marriage if we extend the same opportunity to homosexuals? When are we going to stay out of our neighbors relationships and bedrooms? When are we going to stop legislating hatred?

Call me a negative nelly, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Every silver lining has a big old gray cloud surrounding it.

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* This got my attention, but my favorite part of Obama’s speech and the part that brought tears to my eyes, was this:

“I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”

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John Mellencamps’s gritty version of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” was featured on a compilation called “Song of America” available from eMusic.

-Sarah Palin, October 24

Damn it. I had placed a voluntary moratorium  on political posts here at A Free Man. My vote is in. My guy is well ahead. I was happy to get on with my life here on the other side of the world and ignore the nonsense of the last few weeks of this campaign. But this is just ridiculous. Sarah Palin is probably not going to be the Vice President. But she is a dangerous idiot. And in the Republican party, dangerous idiots are a little like bad pennies.

Here’s the background on what’s inspired this particular rant. Basically, Palin was talking about funding for autism research and in her inimitable sarcastic/moronic style dismissed both basic and collaborative research in a single breath of hot air.

Governor Palin, basic research drives innovation in the life sciences. Most of the advances in medicine over the last century have been initiated in labs that were working on what seems, to an outsider (or a dangerous idiot), as pointless research. Because of the ethics that scientists live by, most genetic research has to be undertaken in model organisms. These are critters like yeast, roundworms, mice and fruit flies. These are organisms that are amenable to genetic manipulation. Because we understand their evolutionary relationship (I know, evolution, scary and evil) to man we can make assumptions, for example, about what’s happening in your brain based on things that happen in a mouse’s brain. Probably not much of a leap there.

As for the France bit, scientists – unlike politicians – work best in a collaborative manner. Most major advances are done by groups of scientists from different universities who work toward the common goal of gaining knowledge about a particular topic. Sometimes, those collaborations cross national borders. Now, I know you were trying to drum up the hatred of France that worked so well for the Republicans back in the ‘02 midterms, but come on. If I can speak personally, it would have taken me another couple of years to finish my Ph.D. without a collaboration with a group that was working on a similar problem in Germany. I’m not particularly fond of Germans, but I put that personal prejudice aside and just got on with it – for mutual benefit.  This is how science works. Maybe, Governor Palin, you could try a similar approach to governing.

Governor Palin, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it is not for the “public good”. Don’t you have some Russians to look out for up in Alaska?

With apologies to Dr. Seuss and Art Buchwald:

Sarah L. Palin will you please go now!
The time has come.
The time has come.
The time is now.
Just go.
Go.
Go!
I don’t care how.
You can go by foot.
You can go by cow.
Sarah L. Palin will you please go now!
You can go on skates.
You can go on skis.
You can go in a hat.
But
Please go. Now.

UPDATE

Check out NATUI’s “My fruit flies are smarter than Palin” shirts. The t-shirt every Drosophila geneticist needs.

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I’m all about the Treepeople covers this week, but this Carly Simon cover just seemed perfect. Treepeople were an Idaho band that used to tear up the Seattle clubs back during my time there. They were led by Doug Martsch, who subsequently went on to form the outstanding Built To Spill. If you like what you hear you can buy Treepeople’s records from C/Z Records.

One of the things I found most remarkable was the similarities in the two candidates’ platforms when it comes to science and engineering. When it comes to important issues like embryonic stem cell research, climate change, scientific integrity and even alternative energy, there are little or no differences between the two candidates’ statements. There are little differences in numbers and approaches on things like offshore drilling, reduction of emissions and nuclear power, but these have been well covered by the media.

It’s important to keep in mind that what follows is what the candidates say in interviews to science publications. Now, it should be noted for those of you who were born yesterday that what a politician says and what a politician does are often entirely different things. It’s worth looking back in the past to see how each candidate has actually voted.

But let’s look at a few important differences on issues that aren’t being covered by the media. I’ve found three major science issues in which McCain and Obama have expressed notable disagreements. I’ve tried to be objective, but in the interest of full disclosure,  I am an Obama supporter.

Basic Research

This is the type of science that often gets picked up on by politicians as wasteful of the government’s money. You’ve seen the headlines, millions of dollars spent to study grizzly bear DNA in Montana. The thing is, basic research drives most innovation in science and engineering. In general, drug companies don’t come up with the major breakthroughs in drug discovery, researchers in universities and publically funded institutes looking at things that seem trivial to the public at large make these discoveries. Drug companies fine tune them. The scientists that you’ve heard of – Einstein, Darwin, Mendel, Pasteur, Curie, Watson, and so on – we’re doing research that would have seemed as laughable to the layperson as studying the reproductive habits of blue crabs . Take home message, basic research is absolutely essential to scientific progress.

Obama has stated that federally funded basic research is one of his highest priorities in the science and engineering arena. He has pledged to double the basic research budget for engineering, mathematics and physical and life sciences over the next 10 years. McCain also has promised to fight for increases in funding for some scientific agencies. Crucially, however, he has promised a freeze in discretionary spending (which includes federal money for research) for one year.

Sex Education

OK, it’s becoming clear as I write this that I will not be able to be completely objective. For the last eight years, the Bush Administration has funded only abstinence-only sex education in the public schools. This has not worked. In 2006, the teenage pregnancy rate in the USA (already the highest in the industrialized world) rose for the first time in 14 years. Rates of syphilis and gonorrhea have risen steadily since 2000. McCain supports continuing this failed policy. Obama supports comprehensive sex education. This would include abstinence programs, but also would ensure that all taxpayer-funded federal programs are medically accurate and include information about contraception.

Evolution vs Creationism

Now, this is one of my biggest science and education issues. Both candidates are committed Christians and both candidates believe firmly in evolution. When asked if intelligent design (creationism) should be taught in the schools, McCain said in an interview with the Arizona Star that “all points of view” should be presented and “to say that we can only choose one line of thinking or one belief on how people and the world was created…there is nothing wrong with teaching different schools of thought.” Obama said in an interview with Nature, “I do not believe that it is helpful to our students to cloud discussions of science with non-scientific theories like intelligent design that are not subject to experimental scrutiny.” Read between the lines and I think you’ll discover the differences between the two candidates.  McCain is OK with teaching creationism, Obama is not.

There are also some differences of opinion on things like NASA (Obama may cut funding), net neutrality (McCain proposes letting the market handle it, we know how well that works) and nuclear energy and offshore drilling. I’m trying to keep this post short and to the point. I report, you decide.**

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Ryan Adams’ wonderful “Love Is Hell” is available from .

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Image Credits:

Parties in a flask

Robot wars

A reassuring lie

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* If you aren’t reading Chris’ blog then stop what you’re doing right now and go and read it. Ignore the scary pink theme and see what she’s got to say. Simply one of the best around, particularly when she writes about politics and society. And I’m not just saying that because we’ve arranged a marriage between her daughter and my son.

** Please don’t sue me Rupert.

Looking for your unbiased and honest opinion if you saw any of the VP debate. Since I don’t have a dog in the fight and can’t vote anyway*, I can be objective. I am objective to the point that I dislike both McCain and Obama, so I’m happy I can’t vote – I’d have to go with none of the above on the ballot.

The media has been ripping Palin so much, I thought I would take the time to see her in action. I don’t quite understand why the media beats her up for inexperience but gives Obama a pass, but I guess that is their agenda.

So anyway, I watched the first part of the debate, and she won me over quickly. Down to earth, folksy and positive responses to the questions. Biden, on the other hand, like all lifetime “experienced” politicians, sidesteps the question and goes into ripping the competition. This is what I am used to – Democrat or Republican, doesn’t matter. Palin did not go too far down that road. I would like to think that she could set a trend for the future, but that is probably too much to hope for. And probably if she hangs around, she’ll end up like them.But it was a nice few minutes.
So anyway, I thought, well maybe it was just me. So at tennis today I dared to bring up politics – not usually a good mix,. Most of my comrades are Obama guys so I expected to hear pretty negative things. But amazingly, they to a man, were very much impressed by her and how she handled herself.

So, if you got a chance to see it, what did you think?

Well Dad, since you read my blog I suspect that you already know that my opinion of Sarah Palin is not a very good one. I did watch the debate, which was shown nearly live on Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV, the PBS equivalent. First of all, I think Joe Biden was fantastic in the last hour and that is unfortunately getting lost in the chattering about Palin. He was smart, quick witted and importantly acted as the terrier that I had hoped he would. He went after Palin a couple of times on absolute falsehoods spouted by her and the McCain campaign. In his finest moment, he challenged the whole Maverick® label that Palin and McCain have draped themselves in. After the sixth time she said “maverick” Biden, clearly peeved, went on a sharp riff, challenging the Republican candidates’ maverickness.

As for Palin, she definitely exceeded expectations and in her defense, presented herself much better than she had of late in interviews.  I’ll admit that I, like a lot of other people, watched in part to see the Palin Express completely come off the rails. But she formed complete sentences, had some coherent thoughts and above all, and as you pointed out, Dad, was thoroughly charming. She didn’t convince me that she knows what she’s talking about, particularly, because she flat-out refused to address the questions posed and stuck to her talking points.

But this is my problem with Sarah Palin: she’s all charm. As you say yourself, she’s down to earth and folksy. A lot of people perceive a connection with her.  She’s someone a lot of people would probably like to have a beer with. That’s great, but I don’t want to have a beer with my president, or vice-president. I don’t want my president to be someone I can relate to. I don’t want my president to be just like me. I want my president to be much smarter than me, I want my president to be much more competent than me, I want my president to be much better than me. I don’t think I could run the United States and I don’t think Sarah Palin could run the United States. We’ve had eight years of being led by a “regular guy”, a “folksy” speaker, a guy that people wanted to have a beer with. Dad, are we better off than we were eight years ago? I don’t think I could run the United States and I don’t think Sarah Palin could run the United States.

That’s my objective opinion. What do you guys think? Let’s hear your (civilized) opinions about Sarah Palin post-debate.

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* My Dad retains his Canadian citizenship despite living in the U.S. for over thirty years. Smart guy.

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The John Butler Trio’s “Sunrise Over Sea” is available from .

Maybe now that I’ve voted I can ignore the rest of this train wreck of an election.

Yeah, probably not.

All this mess, Nathan’s comment the other day and this post by We Be Toys reminded me of the last uncontrollable force that I had to try and control. My Siberian Husky, Timmins, is now the very model of a well behaved pooch. Hold on, I’ve just got my tongue stuck here in my cheek. At any rate, he’s certainly an easier animal to deal with than when we were still living in the States. When he was a younger dog, Timmins was virtually impossible to keep contained. With a running start, the dog could clear a six foot fence with not too much trouble. He used to sit by the front door just waiting for a failure in vigilance and then bolt. Once loose, you got the dog back when he wanted to come back. No matter how accomplished a dog tackler you were, Timmins would leave you cursing in a cloud of dust.

Part of dog ownership for Dr. O’C and I was chasing our dog around the streets of Columbia, Missouri as he terrorized cats or whatever other small mammals he could find, chasing him around as he occasionally glanced back at his pursuers with a look of brazen disobedience. We never held a party in which part of the festivities didn’t involve some of the guests wandering around our neighborhood trying to catch our wayward dog. We tried everything to keep the damn dog in the yard and nothing worked.

Somewhere along the way, and I really don’t recall whose idea this was, it seemed like a good idea to try to electrify the fence around out backyard. “It seemed like a good idea at the time” was kind of a theme of the first thirty or so years of my life, so one spring afternoon I came home from work early with some contraband fencing and a few curiously willing work colleagues. We spent the remainder of the day drinking beer and wiring my backyard for electricity. For a house near the center of town, we had a remarkably big yard and so the details are pretty hazy but I do remember Nathan, who actually grew up on a farm, was particularly helpful. What I can’t remember for the life of me is who tested the fence. I do recall one of my work colleagues, who in hindsight I suspect of sadism, trying to convince me to force the dog onto the fence to show him what it was.

I couldn’t cope with watching my dog hit the fence for the first time, so I went inside and waited. I didn’t have to wait long for a shrieking yelp followed by a long, low mournful and angry cry. I hurried out the back and Timmins was in the exact center of the yard looking as if he had just come face to face with his maker. He didn’t move from the center of the yard for hours and that was only to come in to the house to go to bed.

Lest you feel too much sympathy for the dog or are inclined to judge me harshly, that fence only kept the dog in for about a month before he figured out how to avoid a shock and still escape.

I never hit that fence, so I couldn’t tell you what it felt like. Dr. O’C did, at least once, despite knowing it was there. She wasn’t the only one as various people, again at parties, would forget it was there and rub up against it to their surprise. There may have been a time or two that I neglected to tell people that we had an electric fence, just because they annoyed me.

To try and tie this meandering post together, I’d like to give you my best Sarah Palin impression:

Well Katie, to fix this economic crisis, such as, I would suggest putting all of the Congresses together in a pen with a, you know, electric fence and ok, I mean, obviously out there for God and everyone to judge. Then there will be reform, such as with mavericks and lipstick. And we’ll say thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere. Katie. Obviously.  They’re not waiting to see what Barack Obama is going to do. Is he going to do this and see what way the political wind’s blowing? I’ll try to find an electric fence and I’ll bring it to you.

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The New Pornographers’ “Electric Version” is available from .