Tag Archives: politics

Political Science

As the shoutfest The Onion fittingly dubbed “The War for the White House” staggers towards its storm-soaked climax next Tuesday, there’s one fundamental question that I don’t think has really been answered yet: Why are scientists such raving liberals? We … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

It looks like Massachusetts held true to form: our governor and all of our House representatives will remain Democrats, a big tax rollback initiative lost by a comfortable margin, and we still favor affordable housing. We did, however, cut the … Continue reading

Posted on by Alan | Comments Off

Bullshit and Belladonna

The weekend brought yet another incident highlighting the astonishing stupidity of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. Passed by Congress at the behest of herbal supplement makers’ lobbyists, this insidious Act puts strict limits on the US … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Kim Jong Un

In a rare flash of brilliance (or perhaps a common flash of stupidity), Time Magazine has posted a wonderful poll on their politics website. Look in the right-hand column, and be sure to vote. In the current results, it looks … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off

Quiz for Politicians and Pundits

Please answer the following “Yes” or “No” questions: 1. Is your primary residence anywhere outside of the County of New York (also known as the “Borough of Manhattan”)? 2. Does your constituency/audience hail primarily from a “red state”? 3. Have … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Time to Upgrade The Glassware

After an unfortunate incident involving a broken beer glass, the Landsdowne Pub in Boston has switched to plastic cups. Fortunately, I don’t frequent that establishment, but it seems the Commonwealth has forced a number of other pubs to use plastic … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Two Timelines

20th Century 1950: Smokers don’t get cancer any more often than non-smokers. 1960: We’ve said all along that some smokers get cancer, but it’s a tiny minority of them. 1970: Certain personality traits drive both cancer and smoking – it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

The Right to Repair

There’s a bill in the Massachusetts legislature right now that I really hope passes: it’s called the Right to Repair act. It would require automakers to publish all of the diagnostic codes and repair data for their vehicles, and make … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

This Guy Works for the Democrats, Right?

I mean, really. They must have planted him. No other explanation makes any sense.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Finally, a Tax Break We Can All Support

Senator John Kerry definitely has my vote the next time he’s up for election: BOSTON—U.S. Sen. John Kerry says he wants to give the country’s 1,500 small beer makers a tax break. Kerry introduced a bill to the Senate on … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off