I Love Cynics!

Read that. Think about it. Get pissed off.

Then read the rest and demand action.

Oh, and if you’re curious about the above quoted court case, read here. Basically, they’re justifying torture by citing a court case that affirmed the right to paddle grade school students without a hearing.

Ingraham is one of a series of cases in which the Supreme Court has struggled to find the proper balance between the rights of individual students and the needs of school officials to maintain order to protect the rights of students as a group.

“I’ve got billions and billions of rhymes to flex,
‘Cause I’ve got more rhymes than Carl Sagan’s got turtlenecks.”

Ok. I like the Beastie Boys. The above quote is from one of their songs. The point? Carl Sagan quickly entered the realm of pop culture icons. Through his books and promotion of science via such shows as Cosmos, he brought science education to those who may not have gotten into it otherwise. There aren’t many like him. The combination of deep scientific understanding and ability to talk in a way that engages readers and viewers from all walks of life seems to be a rare gift.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson possesses those qualities. He’s easily approachable, has a passion for science and knows his subject well. Perhaps I’m bias - I think Sagan left some mighty big shoes to fill. Being able to reach both adults and children can be a difficult task. However, from everything I’ve seen, Tyson’s the right man for the job.

Unfortunately, he’s also probably best known as The Man Who Killed Pluto. In his new book The Pluto Files - The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, Tyson looks at the history of this mysterious tiny sphere in the outer reaches of our solar system and the role he played in demoting it to the realm of “dwarf planet.”

We are guided through the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh, an American amateur astronomer, to its continuously downgraded estimated size and the discovery of its moon Charon. It’s an American success story.

Fast forward 70 years and we find Tyson working on the planning of the rebuild of the Hayden Planetarium in New York. A giant sphere will house theaters inside. On the outside, the sphere would be used to show a sense of scale. At various points around the sphere it would represent the known universe, our local cluster, the Milkyway, all the way down the very small world of atoms.

At one point around the scale, the sphere represents the sun. On the railing around the walk, are the four interior “rocky” planets. Suspended from the ceiling are the outer four gas giants.

Wait a minute. Are you counting on your fingers right now, or trying to remember the “My very educated mother…” saying your grade school teacher taught you? Obviously, something’s missing. Oh God! What happened to Pluto?

The planetary status of Pluto, and the fallout of a New York Times article a year after the Hayden Planetarium display opened, are the primary focus of the book. Tyson, whose print and electronic mail boxes were soon slammed with letters from, well, everyone from the sounds of it, approaches the subject with a sense of good humor I’d likely be unable to express given the same situation. I think I’d be tempted to file all my email in the recycle bin.

From the letters of school children and teachers, to the often vitriolic critiques from fellow scientists, Tyson takes a light-hearted look at people’s deeply ingrained views on Pluto’s cosmic position. Should it retain Planet status simply to appease tradition? Who’s gonna have to rewrite all those textbooks, anyway? Should it be demoted to a Kuiper Belt Object? There’s bigger stuff than Pluto out there, anyway. Isn’t that right, Eris?

Well, how that all ends is history (to an extent) at this point. Pluto is a Dwarf Planet. But aside from the humor and history, Tyson raises a bigger question. Is how we currently teach students, of all ages, about science and the solar system really the right way?

I hate to use the word paradigm. Really, I do. When I went through grade school (oh, God, it was so long ago…) we were taught exactly how Tyson describes. Learn the mnemonic: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Prunes (Plumbs, Pizzas, Pies… whatever) - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus *snicker*, Neptune, Pluto.

In other words, memorize their place in order, then learn some basic facts about them. Possibly, but not always including the names of moons.

Tyson proposes a new way of looking at our solar system. Perhaps labels aren’t what we should be focusing on. Think of things different places have in common. Weather, volcanoes, aurora - Why do these things happen in certain places. What are the dynamics that drive these forces. Why do some planets have thick atmospheres, and others don’t.

Rote memorization only goes so far. If you want to engage students, keep them interested beyond the classroom, then perhaps a (I told you I hate this word…) paradigm shift is needed.

Pluto is still going to be out there, and it’s still going to be incredibly, temptingly interesting. No matter what you call it.

Wedge issues, voter myopia, corrupt politicians? What are the causes of increasing economic disparity in the United States? In his book, Unequal Democracy, Larry Bartels examines the history of increasing economic inequality since the end of World War II.

Economic disparity is at its highest point since the 20’s with the top 1% income earners holding nearly a quarter of total earnings. The top 5% hold nearly half of total income. While income of the top earners have increased, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase for the nations lowest workers. Raises in the national minimum wage haven’t kept pace with inflation, and now have less purchasing power than they did in the 60s. How did we arrive at this situation?

Bartels points to studies that have shown that the poor have consistently fared better under Democratic leadership. Despite this, many have voted against their best interests, voting for Republican leadership and for tax cuts that benefit only the richest citizens.

Why? Are voters being enticed by so called wedge issues such as gay marriage and abortion? While these are certainly hot-button issues, Bartels shows that studies indicate that these issues barely make a dent in voters’ political leadership choices. As much as we hear about them in the media, no matter how much radio talk show hosts like to shout about them, there is no statistically significant indication that they play a role in voter choices.

Essentially, only one thing does; election year economic trends. Voters, as a whole, have short memories. It’s only the here and now that affects their voting choices. Is the economy humming along? The incumbent will likely be reelected, or someone from their party will. Voters punish incumbents whose policies lead to poor election year economies.

And how does that play out? Whether by coincidence or planning, Republicans have historically had poor beginning of term economic trends, ending their term, in the election year, with positive growth. Democrats, on the other hand, jump in expanding the economy in their first years in office, with a slump in the election year, thus getting punished at the polls. Myopic voters reward Republicans and punish Democrats.

Even more intriguingly, even if, under Republican administrations, growth is largely one-sided, expanding the livelihoods of the richest 5% at the expense of the poor, they are rewarded at the polls. Most voters, it turns out, have unreasonable expectations of their futures.

Bartels shows this extraordinarily well with the repeal of the estate tax. The estate tax, which only affects the richest of Americans, is an overwhelmingly unpopular tax across the board from the rich to the poor. By repealing the estate tax, or raising the bar of who falls under it, the government loses money. Either new taxes elsewhere will have to be created or services will have to be cut. The most likely places will be in areas that affect the poor.

The support among poor voters for the repeal of the estate tax shows two things. First, we often vote or hold ideals that go against our best interest. Second, we often have unrealistic expectations of future earnings. Someone who waits tables for a living is unlikely to ever have to worry about estate taxes. Yet, they are likely to be among the many who would support repealing them.

This book should be a wake up call for Democratic leadership. Historically, Democrats have lagged behind in election year economic growth. Studies showing that election year economics are about the only thing on the minds of voters should prompt the party to concentrate on improving the economy throughout their terms.

The book was published prior to Obama’s 2008 win. It will be interesting to see if Bartels’ general ideas and predictions continue to prove true.

Some technical aspects of the book should be noted. This is a book rich in statistical detail. I found myself refreshing my memory on definitions and statistical equations often. If you’ve never taken a course on statistics, you may find much of the book difficult to read. Bartels helps you out a lot, though, with extraordinarily thorough footnotes.

On a personal level, the book was somewhat depressing. It suggests that no amount of voter education proves helpful. That people are more likely to vote along partisan lines, rewarding Republicans for election year economic growth, regardless of what the previous years had brought.

In one portion of the book, there is an in depth discussion of how the poor have absolutely no statistical bearing on politicians’ choices. None. And it doesn’t matter if the politician is Republican or Democrat. The wishes of the richest constituents will always hold a larger sway on their choices.

What I’ve mentioned here in this review only begins to touch on the topics in this book. It’s a fascinating read. While depressing, it’s extremely educational and will make you want to help bring about the promised change of the new administration.

Been a while since I’ve posted a book review. Recently completed the book Founding America: Documents from the Revolution to the Bill of Rights (Barnes & Noble Classics).

I won’t beat around the bush, this is a difficult book to finish. It’s long, and let’s face it, standard English has changed a lot since the late 1700s. However, if you don’t mind looking up an archaic word or two, or the odd rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling and the occasional two page paragraphs, the history in this book is fascinating.

As the title suggests, this book is a collection of documents, letters and speeches from 1773 to 1789, pivotal years at the formation of our nation. From these documents the personalities at the core of our new government become apparent. Arguments on how the new government should be structured are debated and decided.

There’s a lot of redundancy in this book, which could be a tad frustrating. Nearly identical version and drafts of various documents, such as the Bill of Rights, are grouped together. Still, it’s interesting to see what’s in one version and what’s been left out of another.

The Federalist 10 should be required reading in school. It’s probably one of the easiest to read and understand documents explaining how a republic such as ours could work. How a diversity of interests can produce a cohesive government answerable to the people. The books low price is worth it just for reading this. I’d never read any of the Federalist Papers before. Madison was an excellent writer who knew how to explain things in a fairly easy to understand fashion.

In all, a long, occasionally dull, read but well worth it for the gems of writing and history it contains.

The GOP released a list of stimulus provisions they view as a waste of money. From this list, I can only surmise that republicans dislike the following things:

• A healthy population. Particularly if that population happens to be Native Americans.
• Saving energy, thereby reducing utility costs.
• The FBI. Or, at least paying the FBI. Weird.
• Flood prevention and reduction infrastructure. If there’s one thing hurricane Katrina taught us, it’s that our infrastructure is perfectly sound.
• Our youth. Summer work programs are for wealthy, white, republican men. Children should be at home playing Wii and getting fat off of capitalism.

To much happy. Need cynical, angry posting. Raaarrrrgghhhhh.

Here are some lessons for the day.

Lesson 1 - Race Relations

Being a racist asshole can win you two Pulitzer prizes.

Lesson 2 - Global Warming

One cold snap during one winter totally debunks all that “science” about “Global Warming”. Long term trends? What are those?

Lesson 3 - Elections

Being sure to accurately count everyone’s vote is a joke. Democrats will try to steal the election by ensuring every vote counts.

Lesson 4 - Healthcare

Taxing cigarettes WILL KILL OUR CHILDREN!

Oh, there’s plenty more lessons to be had. Want to learn more? Go visit the Something Awful thread currently titled Chuck Asay you shithead.

Let’s see, in the past week….

• Reaffirmed a woman’s right to reproductive freedom. CHECK
• Setting in motion the closing of one of the nation’s most egregious examples of the trampling of human rights in Guantanamo Bay. CHECK
• Improvements made in making government more transparent, and thus, more responsible to the people. CHECK
• A politician actually delivering on campaign promises? CHECK

The events currently unfolding in Gaza are absolutely appalling. As we near 1,000 casualties, many civilians, you may feel there’s not much you can do to help. Well, you’d be wrong.

A thread on the Something Awful forums has a great list of charities that provide aid to the Palestinians caught in the cross-fire. I plan a donation for Doctors Without Borders when I get paid on Friday.

Oh, and while you’re at it, buy some Fair Trade, Organic olive oil. Yum!

I’d been lettin’ it go for a while. Updated to version 2.7 and added a Twitter feed. I’m sooooo Web 2.0.

Have to say, I’m really liking the new WordPress interface.

A while back, I posted to the Arduino Forums about the trouble I was having getting actual data from the GPS to the Arduino. If you scroll down a couple of entries, you’ll see that I was getting a ton of gibberish.

The response from the Forum was that the RS232 output was not only not understood by the board, but potentially at a higher voltage than the board could handle. The board is designed for a TTL signal, which is at a lower voltage.

Browsing around the internet finds a ton of schematics for RS232 to TTL circuits, all centered around the MAX232 chip. An order to Mouser and a week later, and I’ve breadboarded this:

One MAX232 chip and five capacitors. That’s it, and now I get this lovely screen when the GPS is hooked up to the converter, which is then connected to the Arduino:

I’d say that makes the last day of the year pretty good! Thanks Arduino Forum!