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Happy Carl Sagan Day!

Welcome to the home of Carl Sagan Day. This November 7, 2009, we will celebrate the life and contributions of the great astronomer, author, and philosopher, Carl Sagan, on the 75th anniversary of his birth.

Last of the Fall Color

So November is well and truly here. Late fall in southern Ohio sees the trees go bare pretty quickly, but this year conditions were nearly perfect for some stunning fall color. It seemed like it came and went so fast that if you blinked, you missed it.

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10 Random Songs-- Weekend Playlist #4

1. Cayenne, The Beatles, Anthology (Disc 1)-- From April 1960, the Beatles before they hit it big.

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Grassley Defends Censorship Amendment, Says Webb Commission Should "Do What We Tell Them To Do"

Sen. Charles Grassley, author of the censorship amendment to the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, was asked about his anti-speech tendencies by a reporter on a conference call today. The full transcript is below, but here's the most interesting part of what Sen.

David Chalmers and the Singularity that will probably not come

David Chalmers is a philosopher of mind, best known for his argument about the difficulty of what he termed the "hard problem" of consciousness, which he typically discusses by way of a thought experiment featuring zombies who act and talk exactly like humans, and yet have no …

Senior Citizens Arrested for "Illegally" Playing Tennis

Here we go again. How many stories like this are we going to get? Stories of senseless tennis violence. And what do you get when this happens?

Michele Bachmann's Tea-Partier "Super Bowl of Freedom"

Their main grievance was health care reform—some periodically broke out into chants of "Kill the bill!"—but many protesters saw reform as a part of a larger problem of government overreach: the stimulus, bailouts, and proposed cap and trade legislation.

Freshwater Update: Day 21-- on School Policy

This was the last of three October hearing sessions. The next sessions are scheduled for November 17-19.

9 Months In-- the Accomplishments of our "Far-Left, Do-Nothing President"

Banned the use of "harsh interrogation" and ordered the closing of Guantanamo.Reversed George W.

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CBO thrashes Republican Healthcare Plan

The headline speaks for itself as well as the first line of the story:

Gun Possession and Assault With a Firearm: Risky Stuff-- Wesley Elsberry Dissects Recent 'Study' by Branas

For myself, I'd have expected that a dataset to do what was reported would have included assaults with a firearm that either resulted in a shooting of the victim or did not result in the shooting of the victim, and do whatever "adjusting" magic was needed to control for dif …

A court decision that reflects what type of country the U.S. is

It's not often that an appellate court decision reflects so vividly what a country has become, but such is the case with yesterday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arar v. Ashcroft (.pdf).

Antonin Scalia: Judicial Activist and Constitutional Relativist

In oral arguments this month in the case of Salazar v. Buono, which concerns the constitutionality of a 5-foot cross on federal government land in the Mojave National Preserve, Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that the cross is a universal, rather than a Christian, symbol.

Early Life Hedged Its Bets to Survive | Wired Science | Wired.com

By forcing bacteria to evolve in ever-changing conditions, scientists have induced a behavior in which colonies formed by microbes with identical genes take radically different forms, as if one sibling in a set of identical quadruplets could sprout gills.

Climate change belief given same legal status as religion

In a landmark ruling, Mr Justice Michael Burton said that "a belief in man-made climate change ... is capable, if genuinely held, of being a philosophical belief for the purpose of the 2003 Religion and Belief Regulations".

US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan Steps Down, Draws Mixed Reviews

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan will leave her job on Nov. 16. The announcement was made late Thursday afternoon in a news release from Buchanan's office. The move had been expected for some time after President Barack Obama's election.

Republican Hypocrisy Case #23758740975700935787: Grassley Proposes to Censor Drug War Reform Suggestions

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia) has bravely proposed legislation to create a Blue Ribbon commission to conduct an 18-month, "top-to-bottom" review of America's criminal justice system with the goal of bringing U.S.

Innocent Detainees Tell Their Stories

The ACLU has released a video of interviews with a number of former Gitmo detainees describing their mistreatment and the effects it has had on them.

The seven giants of the Urals

In the northern Urals, where these leave behind vegetation to become velvety hills that blend into the horizon, seven giants majestically rise.

Things Change

This morning, when I got up to put the trash on the curb for the collectors, the woods on the hill across from my house were on fire.

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Scientifically Haunted House Suggests You're a Sucker

To test whether it's possible to artificially induce paranormal experiences — or, from a different perspective, to technologically summon a spirit — researchers at London's Goldsmith College and architect Usman Haque designed a scientifically haunted room.

New Age Guru Sweat Lodge Claims Three Lives

About 90 minutes into the ceremony, Dr. Bunn said, someone yelled in the darkness that a woman had passed out just after Mr. Ray closed the tent door between rounds. Dr. Bunn said Mr. Ray replied, "We will deal with that after the next round."

All GOP senators to boycott climate hearing

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is engaged in public partisan warfare over a climate bill, a battle that foreshadows the deep struggle the Obama administration will face as Democrats attempt to push a version of the sweeping legislation through the Senate.

Freshwater Update: Day 20-- The 'Pro-Freshwater' Faction

Terri Mahan testified earlier in the hearing when the Board was putting on its case in chief. Hamilton elected not to cross examine at that time because he would call her now.

Freshwater Update: Day 19 - Dave Daubenmire's Antics

The main burden of Daubenmire's testimony was that he took responsibility for having organized the April 16, 2008, public demonstration in Mt. Vernon to bring attention to the Freshwater situation.

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I wish to propose for the reader’s favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive.

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