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The author of Skulls in the Stars is an associate professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
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Category Archives: Politics
Valancourt takes a stand against Proposition 8!
Valancourt Books, once again justifying why they’re one of my favorite small publishers, issued a press release in support of gay marriage following the California Supreme Court’s disappointing ruling upholding Prop. 8: To that end, from now until the end … Continue reading
Bobby Jindal hates lifesaving research!
This one’s been bugging me all day, and although others have tackled it admirably, I wanted to give my perspective, and an amateur would-be vulcanologist. In the Republican response to President Obama’s speech last night, in which he strongly defended … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Science news
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Bush finally gets that monument in Iraq!
Well, right-wing pundits were convinced that Iraqis would be so grateful to Bush for liberating their country that they’d construct statues and name streets after him. It’s taken some time, but finally a monument related to Bush has shown up … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Silliness
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You know who blogs might have stopped? HITLER!!!
This was just so entertaining I had to comment on it. Via The Huffington Post, we learn that the Nobel winner in literature, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, suggested that blogs might have prevented Hitler’s rise to power in Nazi Germany: … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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The auto industry – a play
I’m workin’ on some spiffy new posts. In the meantime, I note that a commenter, JasonF at Balloon Juice, wrote up the auto industry conundrum as a play in three acts. It’s quite excellent: read it here.
Posted in Politics
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How good is your civics knowledge?
Via Daily Kos, I learned that there was a U.S. government civics test given to elected officials by the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI. The results were pretty embarrassing: US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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The perfect metaphor for the D’s response to Lieberman
Of course, we’re all familiar with how boldly the Democrats stood up to Joe Lieberman, the man who campaigned not only for the Republican presidential candidate but also numerous down-ticket Republicans. In the end, the Democrats welcomed him back with … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Silliness
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Yay, North Carolina!
I just learned, via Americablog, that my home state has come through for Obama; the AP reports: President-elect Obama has won North Carolina, a symbolic triumph in a state that hadn’t voted for a Democrat in more than a generation. … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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I voted! Early!
Well, it took 1 1/2 hours, but I got my early voting in! And I didn’t get tricked by the abysmal design of the NC ballot. For me, the occasion was chock full of symbolism and happy coincidences. When I … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Politics
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John McCain: Angry, anti-science miser
As the economic crisis has deepened, McCain’s biggest talking point about the economy has been the proliferation of “earmarks” in government, those state projects that legislators add to Federal budget requests for their home states. For me, a discussion of … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Politics, Science news
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