thinkness - September 2003 Archives

September 2003

First blip -- environmental regulation even makes financial sense - Sounds weird, don't it? The White House Office of Management and Budget just came out with a report finding that clean-air regulations over the past 10 years have saved 5 to 7 times as much as they have cost, due... Posted in | 7 Trackbacks | 176 Comments

Crazy guinea pigs, demented lab rats - This is a dope story about how lab animals may make bad research subjects. Basically, their confined existences may drive them bonkers, as in the case of lab mice who do backflips once every second for up to half an... Posted in | 13 Trackbacks | 208 Comments

The truth comes out, and it is this: The truth came out long ago - Strange how 9/11 made false become true. Want a prime example? An Australian journalist reporting from Britain last night reported that he had dug up a videotape of Secretary Powell from February of 2001 saying that Iraq had basically no... Posted in political currents | 1 Trackbacks | 167 Comments

Dean and Bush -- two sides of the same privileged coin - Weekly Standard editor David Brooks recently got a column at the NYTimes, and with William Safire now they got 2, count 'em, 2 conservatives in house. I've got to say that Brooks is way better than Safire. First of all,... Posted in political currents | 3 Trackbacks | 173 Comments
Woof, God. Woof. - Interesting bit from an interview with biologist John Maynard Smith in the 14 June 2003 New Scientist. He mentions religion in animals, and I have been thinking a lot recently that animals probably are religious. 'NS: Perhaps your best-known work... Posted in psychology & consciousness | 1 Trackbacks | 183 Comments

Clashing color - Disclaimer: I don't usually comb the fashion section of the NYTimes looking for quasi-celebrity wedding announcements. But today I found word that Jonathan Frankel, who apparently is some teevee personality, is marrying a '9/11 widow'. For a guy who makes... Posted in color , language | 4 Trackbacks | 234 Comments
Puddin' - 'The proof is in the puddin' -- one of my favorite phrases of all-time. I'm going to immediately start getting into some of the ideas I want to steer toward in this new incarnation of thinkness, so as to show... Posted in language , monkey vs robot , psychology & consciousness | 7 Trackbacks | 166 Comments
New thinkness - You may have wondered why there has been no more thinkness lately. You wonder, Golly, what's been missing from my life recently? Am I right? [Nod attentively.] Or maybe you gave up on such an unproductive, inconsistent site entirely. [Shake... Posted in | 10 Trackbacks | 152 Comments

Republicans and fiscal responsibility - Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, told the Manchester Union Leader that the national Republican Party has little desire to try to shrink government, per its old, Reagan-era ideals. Its stated goal of fiscal responsibility involves only growing... Posted in political currents | 9 Trackbacks | 200 Comments
Deep regret - pot calling the fridge black - Okay, I've totally gotten out of posting to my 'chronic' columns of late. I think it's somewhat related to the fact that I don't feel like manually entering them all into my blog page. But perhaps at some point I'll... Posted in language | 4 Trackbacks | 162 Comments
US hegemon as UK empire - I just came across this interesting story by Niall Ferguson, a rising academic superstar, musing about the US as an imperial or hegemonic power. It starts with a comparison of the very similar quotes uttered by the British general occupying... Posted in political currents | 3 Trackbacks | 264 Comments

God bless that woman - Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that. -- Britney... Posted in political currents | 2 Trackbacks | 151 Comments
Tell it, dad - An Israeli guy who won a peace prize in Germany reminds me of my father. I'm wondering if I should pass along this story to him and try to get him to realize maybe Israel isn't only the land of... Posted in political currents | 5 Trackbacks | 183 Comments

Biggest Fibbest - or... The Fibbonacci Series Heh. This is hilarious. The Washington Monthly and Beliefnet have teamed up to take a poll of which of the past four US presidents [Reagan to BushII] was the worst liar. Interesting idea, in that it... Posted in political currents | 2 Trackbacks | 214 Comments
Old tricks - I'm back from Burningman. Miss me? As I was driving back, I was wondering if the world had changed much while I was incommunicado. Then I read Daniel Benjamin's straight-dope Slate story that shows that Rice and Rumsfeld recent concocted... Posted in political currents | 10 Trackbacks | 192 Comments