Science and policy: one step forward, two steps back

Some friends of mine at Science Debate released a survey a couple of weeks ago that reported something that shouldn't be at all surprising or even newsworthy.  Americans of faith want more sound science and less ideological nonsense in politics.  (Yes, that includes "born again" Christians that effete chardonnay-sipping Massachusetts liberal pansies like me like to mock so much.)

It makes sense, after all - believing in God doesn't mean you automatically think climate change is a hoax (it isn't) or that vaccines cause autism (they don't).  Best of all, I think, was the strong support given to sound science in policy specifically from Republicans. The survey suggested that Republicans oppose political censorship of scientific reports more strongly than Democrats do.  I'll be honest - this surprised me a little bit. But then, it was a Republican who tweeted this:

To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.
— Jon Huntsman (@JonHuntsman) August 18, 2011

I guess what's so confusing to me then, is this poll seems to fly in the face of beltway punditry conventional wisdom.  Nobody in DC ever thought Jon Huntsman had a chance to win the GOP nomination for President, and this tweet even prompted remarks from "leading" commentators how this eliminated any remote possibility of winning.  During the presidential primaries, all of the candidates either backed away from previous pro-science positions, fudged, or outright denied overwhelming scientific consensus.

effectiveness depends on residence in Tennessee

And then, of course, there's Tennessee.  Yes, the folks who brought us the original Scopes trial are at it again, this time with a law that "prohibits the punishment of teachers" who want to teach evolution - an interesting back-door path to asserting creationism in the state science curriculum. The governor there didn't sign it but didn't veto it either - not what I'd call a profile in courage.  I'm not sure where the law falls on whether it's ok to say magnets relieve pain (umm... NO) or even cure cancer (seriously) or "detoxifying electric foot baths" do, ummm.. something.

But I thought it was a good time to remind everyone what evolution is and isn't - from credible, articulate voices.  I'm so grateful to all the people who participated in this, and I hope we can do more things like it.  The voters are apparently on our side - hopefully someday the politicians will follow their lead.

#DadsLove

Last month I attended Dad2.0 and saw an emerging community of online parents with something to prove.   Fathers aren't the dopes you see portrayed in sit-coms or commercials. We aren't a group of guys who are just "watching the kids" while mom is away.  We aren't apathetic schlubs who care more about our favorite sports teams than our families.

At least we hope we aren't. We try to shatter those stereotypes every day.

That's close to the message I heard from men like Matt Schneider, Doug French, Jason Sperber, and John Cave Osborne. However, rather than tell you what they aren't or what they hate, these men are much more interested in talking about who they are and what they love.

So I'm kicking the tires on this growing community of online dads and I'm going to see how many of them want to engage in a good ol' fashioned blog meme I'm calling #DadsLove.  I'm going to try to get at least one father in each of the 50 US states (plus DC and Puerto Rico, what the heck) to write a simple blog post that describes three things they love about being a father.

Yes, I did something like this with moms a while back.  But that was a large, global community of moms that was reasonably well-established.  While there are some leading voices among online dads, I think this community is still trying to figure out what it is.  I know business and civic leaders are still, oddly enough, really in the dark about this community.

I may be a dad, but I'm not really a "Dad blogger" - this isn't a blog where I share the details of my family life.  But I can say this.  I love:

1) Learning all the little things I'd never think I'd have to know;
2) FINALLY understanding some of the things my own parents would say; and
3) Watching a personality develop before my eyes.

I expect the "real" Dad bloggers will have something much more personal to share.  So I'll keep track of the posts from people who participate and just add the hashtag. My hope is to collect a large #DadsLove list from across the country.  I'll keep it running until I get there. Let's see just how creative this community can be.

What is a flame?

What Is A Flame? from Alphachimp Studio Inc. on Vimeo.

It's "an elegant and totally awesome orchestration of the teeny tiny particles that make up matter." Well done, Jeanne Garbarino, PhD and Deborah Berebichez, PhD.

Alan Alda would be proud.