The Ten Commandments of Science

1. Thou shalt base thy conclusions on the evidence

2. Thou shalt measure objectively, not guess subjectively

3. Thou shalt back up thy statements with evidence

4. Thou shalt use large sample numbers

5. Thy tests shalt be blind

6. Thy tests shalt have controls

7. Thou shalt cite thy sources of information

8. Thy sources shalt be reliable, verifiable and backed by evidence

9. Thy opinion is not fact

10. Thou shalt not bear false witness

Go here to see the source of these commandments and an excellent video on the scientific method

While you are at it, also check out this youtube on creationism.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

Kirsten Gillibrand is the new Senator representing NY. She's a Democrat but many are wailing that she is too conservative. Well, she was conservative because she was elected to a conservative district. Her evolution is immediately beginning, at least in the area of gay rights. I assume that she will soon move even further to the left, maybe even losing her "Blue Dog" status. At least she will if she wants to get re-elected in 2010.

GOP Worries

GOP worry number 1. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)is worried that attorney general designate Eric Holder might want to prosecute people who used torture in interogations. Basically, Republicans want an attorney general who will promise not to uphold the law. Holder is the first attorney general (designate) in awhile who has proclaimed that he believes torture is illegal.

GOP worry number 2. Barack Obama is not really president because he didn't take the oath of office word for word. Ok, Obama retook the oath in the White House just to be sure. New GOP concern, the new oath wasn't taken with his hand on a bible (not that the Constitution requires it).

GOP worry number 3. Barack Obama has ordered that our government should be more transparent and accountable. He recently ordered that Freedom of Information requests should be granted whenever possible. Rush Limbaugh, in particular, thinks this order smacks of a "Banana Republic". Someone might find some information showing that someone during the last 8 years did something illegal.

Mad Martigan for Arizona Governor?

Val (Mad Martigan, Batman) Kilmer is considering a run for governor of Arizona in 2011. Will all State governors one day be ex-superheros?

No Doubting the Crowds

4 million people at the Inauguration I've read. I was at an anti-war rally in Washington DC where an estimated 1 million people showed up to protest the Vietnam War. The above crowd dwarfs that anti-war crowd. Has there ever been such a large crowd gathered in one place?

Bye-bye Klaatu

I'm not a big fan of Maureen Dowd, but she does have a point in her column today.

It was the Instant the Earth Stood Still.

Not since Klaatu landed in a flying saucer on the Ellipse has Washington been so mesmerized by an object whirring through the sky.

But this one was departing, not arriving.

As W. ceased to be president, he flew off over the Capitol and across the Mall en route to Andrews Air Force Base, and then back to Texas.

I’ve seen many presidents come and go, but I’ve never watched a tableau like the one Tuesday, when four million eyes turned heavenward, following the helicopter’s path out of town. Everyone, it seemed, was waving goodbye, with one or two hands, a wave that moved westward down the Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, and keeping their eyes fixed unwaveringly on that green bird.

Let the rule of law once more reign throughout the land.

Don't Let the Door ........

Inaugural Address

My favorite part:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

The Presidential Limo

I wonder what this baby weighs? Only 8 mpg and not great pickup. But it does store a couple units of the Presidents blood just in case.

Best Song Ever Written

Here is Bruce along with a very spry looking, 90 yr. old Pete Seeger (and Seeger's grandson singing a socialist-worker organizing song at the big Inauguration Bash last weekend. It's hard to believe that we actually blacklisted Seeger in the 50's. The man has stood for international disarmament, civil rights and the environment. Talk about a man who deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom - Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger wrote Turn, turn, turn made popular by the Byrds. He also wrote Where have all the flowers gone and If I had a hammer.

SNL Ann Coulter - Torture is good