Dr. K

Of course relativity theory has not been reconciled with quantum mechanics. And relativity theory may be overthrown by some successor theory, just as relativity modified (or "overthrew") the understandings that came from classical mechanics. But the point of this satire is that relativity theory (and all other scientific theories) are subject to test by experimental verification, and must be in accord with observable data. General relativity, which postulates the curvature of space, must be born out by observation, as it has been in numerous astronomical tests such as the curving of light as it passes a gravitational field. The difference with "creation science" or "Intelligent design" theory is that those "theories" predict nothing and are therefore not subject to experimental verification. A real scientific theory, as differentiated from a pseudo science trumped up to rationalize the Bible, arises from observation and predicts outcomes. The yahoos who say that relativity or anything else is "just a theory" do not understand what a scientific theory is and are simply trying to push their theology. They have no interest in or commitment to science. This country is in danger of letting people who are scientifically illiterate and religiously motivated legislate what will be taught in our science classes because a majority of the citizens are "Christians." Let them believe whatever they want, let them preach whatever nonsense they wish in their churches--but let them keep their hands off the science classes in our schools. This is medieval BS, and deserves any mockery, and any resistance, that rational people can muster. You studied physics, you know this. Why do you obfuscate?

Nope, just Dr. K. I haven't been posting much for the last few months.

from http://fafblog.blogspot.com Tuesday, November 09, 2004 classroom activities Hello class! I'm Mr. Fafnir an this is Mr. Giblets. As required by your school board, we'll be your science teachers today! I'll be doin your physics lesson while Mr. Giblets sits in the back throwin dodgeballs. We make learning fun! Today we're gonna teach you about gravity. Now you've probably heard a lot from your moldy ol science teacher Mr. Mold bout the moldy ol "theory a relativity." Well the first thing you ought to know about the theory of relativity is that it is just a theory an not a fact. It's sorta like sayin "yknow I got this theory that my wife, insteada runnin off with a lesbian, was abducted by a sasquatch." It doesn't mean a sasquatch or sasqualogical processes really exist. The sasquatch theory is just that - a theory. An alternate theory would be to say for instance that the sasquatch's evolution was purposely guided over the course of millions of years by a divine intelligence just so it would abduct your wife! That's a theory too! Today we aren't gonna just talk to you about some "theory" a relativity. We're gonna talk to you about science. Leprechaun Science. General relativity says gravity is caused by the "curvature of space" which is crazy. Space isn't curved! It's big an black an empty an fulla spaceships! If it was curved how would spaceships fly in it? They would Rosen into the curves an blow up an stuff! Gravity isn't caused by any crazy "curved space"! It is caused by scientifical processes such as leprechauns. Leprechauns are all over the universe grabbin onto matter with their tiny leprechaun hands an holdin it together. When you walk down the street insteada plummeting into pace it is because leprechauns are holdin you down onto the earth. Of course leprechauns are pretty small so when you jump you break free for a little while until the leprechauns grab you again! Yes Harold, the earth is also held in place by leprechauns. A chain of tiny leprechauns standin on each others' shoulders is stretchin from the sun to the earth. Everything is held together by leprechauns! No Jenny you can't see leprechauns they are too small! That's the whole point a bein a leprechaun! Like all scientific theories, Leprechaun Science is completely unverifiable. Ralph do you want Mr. Giblets to hit you with the dodgeball again? Mr. Giblets has a lotta dodgeballs! Now naturally you will ask "Mr. Fafnir well where did all these leprechauns come from?" Well they were put there by a giant leprechaun, or macroleprechaun as leprechaun scientists say, on account of leprechology is too complex to have originated without giant leprechaun intelligence. The macroleprechaun controls all gravity through the universal leprechaun field, but we can't see im cause he is too big! Wow! No, Morton, the macroleprechaun is not held together by leprechauns himself. That would be silly. Yes, Moo Cow, the macroleprechaun IS all knowing an all powerful! How'd you guess that? No, Ogo, teachin this class is not a violation of the first amendment, at least not until the court challenge clears up. Ralph you're just beggin for another dodgeball! Mr. Giblets! Mr. Giblets! ¶ posted by Fafnir at 9:26 PM Comments (24)

I don't know what was involved in the smoking ban in NYC. I don't live there anymore, I live in a Red State. I did respond to one of your posts years ago saying that, as long as there is a no-smoking zone in the restaurant or bar, that's enough for me. I'm happy to fight for your right to smoke your cigarettes as long as I don't have to breathe the smoke or come home smelling like a trash fire. Same goes for noise ordinances and other such rules. Your right to be obnoxious ends where it interferes with my right to be undistrubed. In real life, compromises must be made, or course. There's tons of case law on such disputes, most of what Judge Wapner (my departed father's favorite TV show) spent his time on was just such stuff as this. I AM a professor. I have never downgraded a student because of his or her political views. I readily agree that most professors in the humanities are liberals. Most professors in business schools are conservatives. Forgive me, but I do not see much danger to our way of life from "militant liberal vegetarians."

from The Medium Lobster at Fafblog (http://fafblog.blogspot.com): Attention All Democrats: I Am Your Only Hope. With the Democrats crushed under a monster landslide defeat of nearly three percentage points, the time has come to ask the inevitable question: is this the end? Is the Democratic Party billsfanone to oblivion? Has it lost all appeal outside its tiny, shrinking base of half the American populace? The answer, quite sadly, is yes... unless it follows the sage advice of the Medium Lobster, and quickly. Why did Democrats lose the election? Clearly, this loss couldn't have come as a result of the strategic and tactical masterminds behind Kerry-Edwards '04, whose cunning political maneuvering, clear message, and deft counter to every shameless smear from the Bush camp kept their candidates shining in the sun from March through November. Nor could it have been affected by the negligence of the modern news media, which remained a hawklike watchman of democracy, quick to counter every rumor, baseless allegation and outright lie from GOP operatives not with mere fact-checking but with the sullen and lifeless talking points of Donna Brazille. Indeed, in no prior election has the playing field been so level for a fight between a wartime president whose endless incompetence is repeatedly masked by a top-notch media team and overlooked by an oblivious press corps, and an able but wooden challenger with an inept staff and a play-doh running mate whose media narrative becomes hijacked for a week at the mention of lesbians. Truly this was a contest of pure ideas, and the ideas of liberal America lost. How can the Democrats regain the country? By adopting fresh, new, bold ideas. Specifically, the ideas of the Republicans from about twenty years ago or so. Your Platform: Equal rights, civil liberties, the separation of church and state, protecting and conserving the environment: these are bold, important, vital issues. The policies you hold on these are not merely critical to the soul of the Democratic Party, they are critical to the soul of America. Discard them all. Your DNC Chairman: Some have suggested Howard Dean, but his radical-left ideas on fiscal responsibility, health care reform and relaxed gun control laws would never find a broad appeal. Some suggest it would be better to reach for a bold new tomorrow in Bill Clinton, who would bring to the party all the fresh new ideas of 1992 all over again. But to connect with "Red America" - to connect with the Heartland and the South - you'll need a Democrat who truly understands and connects with the Heartland and the South, and is prepared to put a "Southern face" on the party. The Medium Lobster nominates the mummified corpse of George Wallace. Your God-talk: If you want to win the Heartland, you'll have to understand it's strange, foreign notion of "moral values" - values that are alien within your sodomy-ridden, fetus-eating Blue States. You'll have to do this by quoting the Bible - a difficult task, we know, as the average Democrat withers into dust upon touching a copy of the King James version, but if handled properly, with thick gloves and the proper counseling - the Medium Lobster understands that Steven Waldman is ready to lend a helping hand - you should manage to coax some Southern candidates, or perhaps even some Southern Black candidates! - to memorize a few passages (Note: you can steal them from hotels if you're not sure where to find a copy). Learning to mix "God-talk" with "regular-talk" is critical because without this skill, communication with otherworldly "Red-Staters" is next to impossible. You even may attempt to sell a Red Stater a tax cut or a farm subsidy - something a Red Stater is genetically compelled to desire - and they will automatically reject it without a Biblical mandate. When explaining the few issues you have left, you'll need to couch them in simple, direct, "moral" terms, like in the example below. Remember, the intrinsic rights of man are out; the arbitrarily God-given rights of man are in! When justifying gay marriage: INCORRECT!: "Every American should be equal before the law." LESS INCORRECT BUT STILL INCORRECT: "We are all God's children, and as we are equal in his sight, we should be equal before the law." MORE CORRECT: "God says gay marriage is good." CORRECT!: "And the Lord Jesus came down from the mountain and said unto Moses, verily, I command thee to be gay." With any luck they won't look it up. Remember: this is your party. And you can only save it by rendering it unrecognizable and treating half of America as if it has a mental disease.

You deserve the SWAMI award. Congratulations. Really impressive!

Veteran Sues After He Receives Duty Order HONOLULU - A veteran of the first Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) is suing the Army after it ordered him to report for duty 13 years after he was honorably discharged from active duty and eight years after he left the reserves. Kauai resident David Miyasato received word of his reactivation in September, but says he believes he completed his eight-year obligation to the Army long ago. "I was shocked," Miyasato said Friday. "I never expected to see something like that after being out of the service for 13 years." His federal lawsuit, filed Friday in Honolulu, seeks a judgment declaring that he has fulfilled his military obligations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Yee said his office would defend the Army. He declined to comment further. An Army spokewoman at the Pentagon (news - web sites) declined to comment to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Miyasato, 34, was scheduled to report to a military facility in South Carolina on Tuesday Within hours of filing the lawsuit, however, Miyasato received a faxed letter from the Army's Human Resources Command saying his "exemption from active duty had not been finalized at this time" and that he has been given an administrative delay for up to 30 days, said his attorney, Eric Seitz. Miyasato, his wife, Estelle, and their 7-month-old daughter, Abigail, live in Lihue, where he opened an auto-tinting shop two years ago. His lawsuit states that Miyasato is suing not because he opposes the war in Iraq (news - web sites), but because his business and family would suffer "serious and irreparable harm" if he is required to serve. Miyasato enlisted in the Army in 1987 and served in Iraq and Kuwait during the first Persian Gulf War as a petroleum supply specialist and truck driver. Miyasato said he received an honorable discharge from active duty in 1991, then served in the reserves until 1996 to fulfill his eight-year enlistment commitment. The Army announced last year that it would involuntarily activate an estimated 5,600 soldiers to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan (news - web sites) and elsewhere. Army officials would be tapping members of the Individual Ready Reserve - military members who have been discharged from the Army, Army Reserve or the Army National Guard, but still have contractual obligations to the military. Miyasato said he never re-enlisted, signed up for any bonuses or was told that he had been transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve or any other Army Reserve unit. "I fulfilled my contract," Miyasato said. "I just want to move on from this, and I'm optimistic that I'll be successful." Miyasato speculated that he may have been picked because his skills as a truck driver and refueler are in demand in Iraq. He told reporters he did the same work as that done by a group of Army reservists who refused to deliver fuel along a dangerous route in Iraq last month.

I'm not sure I understand. I do have a wife and daughter, but I haven't moved lately. Are we confused? I did recently have a story banned from a high school in Oregon for being pornographic.

I don't know who the GOP will pick, but it won't be Hillary from the Dems. You guys have to get over your Hillary obsession. Do you see her in your nightmares? (I won't ask about your dreams).

Great map. I like it.

Bush has all the power. The GOP completely controls the congressional agenda. The Dems can't do a damned thing on their own initiative. So it's incumbent on Bush to make the first move, if he's serious about "healing the wounds." Especially after treating the Dems like a doormat for the first term, doing such things as holding a vote open in the House for three hours until they could strongarm a couple of Republicans into changing their votes on the Prescription Drug bill, accusing the Dems of disloyalty, acting like the Dems were obstructing judges when they blocked a small fraction of the number of judges that the Rebublicans blocked of Bill Clinton's nominees. Frist went to South Dakota and campaigned against Daschle, a breach of collegiality that no Democratic Senate leader had ever done against the Republican minority leader when the Dems had the whip hand. This is whyBush's "I'm a uniter, not a divider" talk is just so much rhetoric. I fully expect the GOP to use their power to the max, and devil take the hindmost. This quote from Bush only reinforces that expectation.

Josh Marshall gives a take on the election that I agree with: Yesterday, in an overnight post, Andrew Sullivan wrote, President Bush "deserves a fresh start, a chance to prove himself again, and the constructive criticism of those of us who decided to back his opponent. He needs our prayers and our support for the enormous tasks still ahead of him." I thought about this when I read it. And, to put it simply, I didn't agree. What I considered writing was that given the track record he's compiled and the way he ran this campaign, he's really owed no fresh start. That would be graciousness at war with reality. It would be up to the president, I thought of writing, to show concrete signs of a willingness not to govern in the divisive and factional spirit from which he's governed in the last four years. And then there's this from his comments today: "We've worked hard and gained many new friends, and the result is now clear -- a record voter turnout and a broad, nationwide victory." This is the touchstone and the sign. A 'broad, nationwide victory'? He must be kidding. Our system is majority rule. And 51% is a win. But he's claiming a mandate. "A broad, nationwide victory"? It would almost be comical if it weren't for the seriousness of what it portends. This election cut the nation in two. A single percentage point over 50% is not broad. A victory that carried no states in the Northeast, close to none in the Industrial midwest is not nationwide, and none on the west coast is not nationwide. And yet he plans to use this narrow victory as though it were a broad mandate, starting right back with the same strategy that has already come near to tearing this country apart. -- Josh Marshall This is what the first Bush term gave us--he governed as if he had won a landslide and a mandate. Of course he has the right to try to do so, and the GOP controls both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, so he can get most anything he wants passed. And the Republicans are completely responsible for the consequences, which is at least some consolation for us liberals. But if Bush seriously wants to heal the divisions in the country, he has to treat the Dems as more than an obstruction. The Supreme Court nominations he is likely to have the opportunity to make--as many as three of them over his term--will be real evidence of his sincerity. If he says, "Today I nominate John Ashcroft to the SC--now, let the healing begin" we will know that he doesn't give a damn about the 49% of the population who voted against him. I don't expect him to make any meaningful efforts to reach across the aisle. As Grover Norquist said once, "Bipartisanship is just another word for date rape."

...on your man's electoral and popular vote victory. You wanted this president and this congress--you've got 'em. And the anti-gay marriage initiatives, and the parental notification law in Fla, and the new senators in SC, NC, LA, OK, SD, etc. Big victories all. We'll see how it works out.

When the Redskins lose their last home game before a presidential election, the incumbent president also loses. It's been true since 1936.

Excellent post. I think you are right about Drew's inability to make those around him play up to their potential. I agree it's time to move on. I wish we had better alternatives, but things aren't going to get better with Bledsoe in there.

Re the "dropped passes," I meant over the course of the season, not in this particular game. You know from my post I think this blaming Moulds is foolish. Moulds is the guy who prevented the linebacker from going 100 yeards for the TD in the 4th quarter, after McGahee had given up chasing him. He's not without flaws, but he's by far the best receiver on this team and still a fine, sometimes elite, receiver in the league.

You said bring in Az Hakim or someone else. What the hell has Az Hakim done since he left St. Louis? He isn't half the receiver Moulds is. You get him, and where is Moulds going to play? Third receiver, in the slot? Evans was the targeted receiver on the Bledsoe interception in the end zone. I don't blame Evans for that, but he caught ZERO passes today. Maybe it's because Bledsoe never looked for him, but I doubt it. Moulds caught six today, including one circus catch that should have been an interception. Yes, he has dropped passes, but the problems this offense is having aren't because of Moulds. There are a dozen other more serious problems on this team than Moulds. Moulds is not a problem, he is an asset, one of the few on this team.

Your comments on Moulds and the receivers are ludicrous. Az Hakim? Jurevicious? Evans is already starting. If they can't get him the ball now, how is getting rid of Moulds going to make it any easier? The team is playing crappy. But to listen to this board make me realize why fans should seldom be take seriously. We run on emotions, not logic.

This assumes that, given the chance to tackle Wills, Deion would even try to get near him.

O-line play. It oculd be a fluke, but they looked like they knew what they were doing. Bledsoe actually helped by being relatively mobile for once. The second half they looked like a decent team.

It worked for the Chargers last weekend. Win one for.... Cookie Gilchrist! Wray Carlton! Jack Kemp! Daryl Lamonica! Elbert Dubenion! Billy Shaw! Tom Day! Tom Sestak! Butch Byrd! George Saimes! Harry Jacobs! Jim Dunaway! Paul Maguire! Pete Gogolak!

This is one of the funniest posts I have ever seen on the board and for it I forgive you all your wrongheaded political rants on the PPP board. You rock! B)

I have not been vocal in his defense, but I have been willing to wait with the hope that Bledsoe would get better. I am done with that now. It is possible tht the Bills or some other team with him at QB might win a few games, but he is no longer a first class quarterback. He needs too much help from the rest of the team, perfect blocking, a great game plan, sturdy defense to make up for miscues. Things that very few if any teams in the NFL can provide anymore, and that the Bills are not going to have. There is no upside to cintinuing to play Bledsoe and hoping that things will get better. There is no chance the Bills will make the playoffs with him in the backfield. There's not much chance the Bills will make the playoffs this season under any circumstances. If Losman were healthy I'd have him in there right away. The problem is that Bilsl are in a no-win situation with Bledsoe on this team. They are going to have to get rid of him anyway. Keeping him past this season woudl be a sign of hopelessness, or of terminally bad judgment. I don't think a change is going to materially affect their record this season, but the Bills should do it just to indicate that they no longer believe Bledsoe has a future on this team. There are lots of other problems on this team--I am not saying it all falls on Bledsoe's shoulders. But he is never going to take this or any other team to a super bowl, or likely even the playoffs. A guy like Brady is ten times the QB, and Belichek proved he knew what he was doing by cutting Bledsoe loose.

I don't think Shane Matthews offers any kind of upgrade, but at least he's a change, and this team needs something to shake them up. I don't know how quick a thinker Matthews is, but he can't be any slower than Drew. On the pass to the tight end that got the TE killed by R. Harrison, the TE was open long before Drew threw the ball. If he had flipped it to the guy as soon as he broke open over the middle, Harrison would not have been anywhere near him. This happens all too often with Bledsoe.

I'm with you. I will be there rooting for them next week, but I am doing this out of a sense of loyalty with little hope. When was the last time they played a good, complete game? Maybe aginst the Redskins last season, but I can hardly remember. It's painful to watch them screw up so predictably. Whenever they start a drive either on offense or defense, I expect them to do something bad on every third play. They are incapable of running 8-10 consecutive plays without committing a penalty, a blown coverage, running a wrong passing route, missing a block, throwing an interception or dropping a pass. It's not that the players are not without raw talent. But they make mental errors with awesome regularity. They have the mentality of losers, by that I mena that, even when they do something good, they do not really believe in themselves, and cannot rise to a challenge. This has been the story of Buffalo football, with the exception of the Polian/Levy years, throughout their history. They have never had the mental strength of a good football team.