Notes From A Transitional Fossil

In Which a Bridge Becomes an Obvious Metaphor for Impermanence

2012-01-11T16:27:00.003-06:00

On the next to last day, we got into the tiny rented Chevrolet Classic and drove from Mendoza, the third-largest city in Argentina, toward the border with Chile. We wanted to see Aconcogua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, the tallest mountain outside the Himalayas. There’s a small visitor center near the base, with a short walking trail that provides views of the peak, and a staging area for people who are going to try to climb to the summit. The mountain was beautiful and the half-day we spent wandering around the little park was splendid, but getting there turned out to be more interesting to me.

The road wasn’t bad—a bit narrow and steep in places—but the view was beyond spectacular. The highway follows the Rio Mendoza, a narrow, fast-moving river that arises in the glaciers near Aconcogua and delivers its muddy water down through the Andes to the deserts below. The Andes were pushed up—are being pushed up—by the subduction of the Nazca Plate, which carries the floor of the southern Pacific beneath the South American Plate. The mountains are young and jagged, and unlike any mountains I’d seen before, nearly naked. Look at Pike’s Peak, or any of the Rockies, and the entire base of the mountain is clothed in a swath of conifers that soften the look and obscure the structure. The Andes are different. Aside from a dusting of tiny bushes near the bottom, and a small cap of snow on the highest peaks, the Andes are geology laid bare.

I rode in the back seat of our car and craned my neck to try to see the mountaintops. The sky was clear and sharp and the sun beamed down. We stopped every so often to take pictures. The air smelled of creosote bush and other desert plants. All of us were biologists who had worked in the North American deserts, and we struggled to match the unfamiliar plants to those we knew from home; some were cactuses and mesquites, but others were completely new to us.

At each stop, I was impressed by how unrelentingly huge and empty the mountains were. There was almost no animal life, and the plants were sparse and small. It vaguely reminded me of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico, except that the mountains were twice as tall. The strata of the rocks were plainly visible, all the way up the mountains, but they weren’t even or laminar. Instead, the layers were twisted and bent by the pushing-up of the mountains; in places it was clear that giant columns of rock had even been inverted in a manner that spoke of incredible violence, but violence that had taken tens of millions of years to accomplish. That was the message of the Andes—time, time, and more time.

The stunted shrubs around the bases of the mountains were probably three or four times older than me. They grow slow, and live long. I stood beside the road and looked up at hundreds (thousands?) of layers of rock, each one of which represented thousands (tens of thousands?) of years of sediment drifting to the ocean bottom. It was on the other flank of the Andes that Darwin found the rocks that supported his friend Lyell’s ideas on the age of the earth, but that’s not what made Darwin a genius. You’d have to be blind or stupid to ride through the Andes and not understand that the earth is an old, old place.

After our day on Aconcogua, we rolled back down Ruta 7 toward Mendoza, alongside the river again. In places, the river had dug deep canyons in solid rock, leaving cliffs a hundred or more feet high. How many eons does that take? Between the road and the mountainside, an abandoned narrow-gauge railroad rusts into ruin, disappearing at places underneath talus rockslides. A steel bridge is covered by rocks, looking as if it has partially melted into the mountain. “The mountain is taking it back,” one of my companions said, and I agreed with her. The earth takes it all back.

Sam Brownback Sucks

2011-11-26T08:02:00.002-06:00

That's Kansas governor, former presidential candidate, and creationist nutbag Sam Brownback. He's demanding that a Kansas high school student apologize for saying mean things about him on her twitter account. If you ever needed evidence that someone actually did suck, this would be it.

It's Not A Very Pretty Picture, Is It?

2011-11-06T13:37:00.001-06:00

An Autumn Quote for Biology Nerds

2011-09-06T08:44:00.003-06:00

"Yesterday evening as it was getting dark, I walked the path past a large sugar maple tree that had shed its leaves. It was drizzling very lightly, and I could hear the tiny patter of small raindrops. But as I passed the maple, I smelled that peculiar smell of autumn—just a quick whiff. I stopped to catch more scent and my mind flashed back to 43 years ago as I saw myself following my father on a dark evening. It was cool and damp then, and the leaves undoubtedly had given off that same aroma…At first it seemed that something had been lost, never to return. The thought touched me with a tinge of sadness, at the same time that the scent touched me with happiness. Yet, thoughts create feelings, and I then had another thought that made me feel better. The maple tree behind me is 99 percent dead. Its only living tissue is a thin layer of cambium just underneath the bark. Each year the cells of the cambium divide, and those that align themselves toward the inside of the tree die and become wood, its support. The autumn scent had given me access to the deepest growth rings of my life, which served a vital function—support for new experiences and new growth."

Bernd Heinrich—A Year in the Maine Woods

You. Must. Read.

2011-04-03T15:29:00.001-06:00

This.

Prophetic Words

2011-01-06T14:00:00.005-06:00

Alfred Russel Wallace, on the beauty of wildlife in exotic locales:

"It seems sad that on the one hand such exquisite creatures should live out their lives and exhibit their charms only in these wild inhospitable regions...while on the other hand, should civilized man ever reach these distant lands, and bring moral, intellectual, and physical light into the recesses of these virgin forests, we may be sure he will disturb the nicely-balanced relations of organic and inorganic nature as to cause the disappearance, and finally the extinction, of these very beings whose wonderful structure and beauty he alone is fitted to appreciate and enjoy. This consideration must surely tell us that all living things were not made for man. Many of them have no relation to him. The cycle of their existence has gone on independently of his, and is disturbed or broken by every advance in man's intellectual development; and their happiness and enjoyments, their loves and hates, their struggles for existence, their vigourous life and early death, would seem to be immediately related to their own well-being and perpetuation alone, limited only by the equal well-being and perpetuation of the numberless other organisms with which each is more or less intimately connected."

Wallace is quoted in Iain McCalman's excellent Darwin's Armada.

What’s on My I-pod—Let’s All Commit Suicide and Go to Hell Edition

2010-11-23T10:25:00.003-06:00

Mrs. Archaeopteryx gave me an I-pod Nano for Christmas last year, and I spent several months wondering how I had lived fifty years without one. Then I spent the next several months wondering why she had bought something with only 14 gigs of memory—the damned thing would only hold about 1500 songs. Lo and behold, after enough wailing and gnashing of teeth, an I-pod Classic with ten times as much memory appeared next to my laptop. I love it so much better—it looks and feels substantial. It’s too big to tuck into a shirt pocket, but I don’t care—I get to spend the next couple of months loading a significant portion of my CD collection into it, and I so look forward to listening to obscure tracks off of decades-old pirated discs.

Anyway, with the advent of the Thanksgiving Break, I’m trapped in my office for a day without classes, and only my new toy as company. It’s a perfect opportunity to play the game invented by Rundeep and Claude Scales—put the I-pod on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up. So here’s the annotated list for this morning:

1. Carmelita—Warren Zevon. One of my favorite songs, and the impetus for today’s list. The song is sung from the point of view of a heroin-addicted artist who contemplates suicide (“I’m sitting here playing solitaire, with my pearl-handled deck.”) I’ve always assumed the song was at least partly autobiographical—Zevon had a life that was interesting in just about every sense. He was an obsessive-compulsive genius who counted Billy Bob Thornton and David Letterman among his closest friends, and who died at age 56 of mesothelioma.

2. I Still Miss Someone—Rosanne Cash. Rosanne recorded this version of her father’s song of broken love for the Kindred Spirits tribute album which was released a year before Johnny’s death in 2003. Apparently, everyone around the elder Cash understood that he wasn’t long for this world. It’s a sad song to begin with, but seems even more desolate when cast as the story of a girl singing about her missing father.

3. The Blues—Randy Newman. My friends are entertained by how much I love Randy Newman—“He’s got the Randy Newman boxed set” is how they make fun of my musical tastes. But I suspect that Newman’s the greatest American songwriter, and his songs of idiots who don’t know they’re idiots make me want to laugh and cry at the same time. This song is from his Trouble in Paradise album—Newman at the height of his powers. The lyrics are about a songwriter (anyone we know?) whose mother died in a factory fire, whose brother is a male prostitute, whose best friend was killed in a bar fight, and whose father abandoned the family for a woman he met on a train. Paul Simon sings the chorus.

4. Highway Patrol—Junior Brown. Country music at its finest. Brown plays a double-necked guitar with built-in steel, and his lyrics are usually funny. This song is just a straight-up paean to a state trooper, sung from the trooper’s point of view, funny only in that somebody wrote a paean to a state trooper.

5. 22—Richard Buckner. Oh boy. A lovelorn kid commits suicide when his girlfriend never calls to talk about their break-up. Sample lyric: “I didn’t leave a letter, I just wrote my baby’s name, on the mirror all steamed over, with water, heat, and shame.” The phone rings just as he loses consciousness. I still get chill bumps each time I hear this song. Why isn’t Buckner rich and famous?

6. Rehab—Amy Winehouse. Go ahead. Make fun if you like. I heard the song by mistake, and then picked up the disc Back to Black. It’s the album the Supremes would have made in 1962 if Holland-Dozier-Holland had used the word “fuck” in their lyrics a lot more than they did. Everyone knows Winehouse’s story, and it’s clear from this album that she knows it, too; she’s killing herself and kidding herself. How can you not feel bad for a kid who sings “I don’t ever wanna drink again, I just need a friend?”

7. The Wig He Made Her Wear—Drive-by Truckers. This band is my favorite discovery from this year. Think Lynyrd Skynyrd, but with funnier, smarter lyrics, and a rawer sound. This song recounts the true story of Mary Winkler of Selmer, Tennessee, who killed her pastor husband Matthew because he “made her dress up slutty before they had sex.” Her defense attorneys caused an “audible gasp in the courtroom that day,” when they exhibited “them high-heeled shoes and that wig he made her wear.” The jury reduced her charges to involuntary manslaughter, which the singer finds perplexing: “I ain’t judging either way, but she’s already out of jail.”

8. My Head’s in Mississippi—ZZ Top. Here’s a band that helped me enjoy a lot of weed back in the 1970s. These guys seemed to play flat-out rock and roll, and only later did I figure out that they had tricked me into liking the blues. This song is about a confused, drugged-out young man who doesn’t seem to remember if his encounter with a naked cowgirl was real or not. “Stumbling through the parking lot of an invisible Seven-Eleven,” may sound like fun to you, but it just seems scary to me. Maybe a trip to rehab is in order.

9. Hell—Squirrel Nut Zippers. Jimbo Mathus is a demented genius, and the music of this band is Jimbo at his most demented and most genius-y. Who would have thought up a calypso song about Hell? Apparently it’s not a pleasant locale: “This is a place where eternally / fire is applied to the body / teeth are extruded and bones are ground / then baked into cakes which are passed around.”

10. Daniel and the Sacred Harp—The Band. The Band was around for a long time, but only in the last several years has it become one of my favorites. Robbie Robertson wrote this song of a man who sells his soul in exchange for a beautiful harp and the ability to play it. Robertson said that he was inspired by the story of Robert Johnson, the Mississippi blues legend who claimed that he sold his soul for the ability to play the guitar. A high price, but still in all, a good trade.

"Liberal Media" Strikes Again

2010-10-24T09:58:00.003-06:00

Next time somebody starts whining to you about the "liberal media," point them to the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader. Turns out that the newspaper has decided not to publish wedding notices for gay weddings, even though gay marriage is legal in New Hampshire. In other words, owners of the newspaper don't like the law, so they're going to pretend that it doesn't exist. The Union Leader clearly wants to make the news, rather than report it. Or maybe, they're going to report the news the way they think it should be, rather than the way it is. In other words, the Manchester Union Leader is just like every other "mainstream" media outlet operating in this country.

You Need to Shut Up About the Damn Mosque

2010-08-16T17:46:00.005-06:00

The United States of America is not a place. It’s not a flag. It’s an idea. The idea was set forth in the Constitution. If you bother to read the Constitution, what you find out is that it’s mostly just nuts-and-bolts instructions about how to run a government. Yeah, there are some good ideas there, but really, it’s about as exciting and revolutionary as the instructions for assembling a cheap Wal-Mart bookshelf. The part that is groundbreaking, and breathtaking, is the bit tacked on at the end—the Bill of Rights.

And the one that comes first is the most important. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Now, I know that some of y’all really love that Second Amendment. And the Fifth, and Ninth, and Tenth are pretty awesome, too. And even the Third is underrated—who among us wants a bunch of soldiers hanging out in the rec room, drinking up the beer and scratching up the pool table? But the Founding Fathers—and y’all keep telling me how important their intentions are, all the time—put the First Amendment first. That should tell you how important they thought it was.

And it’s what makes this country America. Up to that time, pretty much every country in the world reserved the right to make you worship the way they wanted you to worship, and they could throw you right in prison for saying the wrong thing, or writing the wrong thing, and if you decided to have yourself a Million-Man March, or a Vietnam War Protest, or God-help-you, a Tea Party Rally, they could beat you with nightsticks, or squirt you with fire hoses, or do whatever they did to people who mouthed off in the 1700s. But the First Amendment changed all that. It protected your right to say whatever stupid-ass thing you wanted to say, or to worship Baal if that was your predilection. If you didn’t like what the government was doing, the First Amendment gave you the right to bitch about it. In other words, the First Amendment says that you are a human being, and you have the right to think whatever you want to think.

Now, I know some of you don’t like Islam, and that’s your right (your First Amendment right!). I know I don’t like it, what with the beating women down, and the blowing shit up, and the America-hating and whatnot. But guess what—I don’t like your fucked-up religion, either, whatever it is. I don’t like that you think that your god should have some say into whether I can buy a beer on Sunday, or that you think that somehow posting the Ten Commandments up in the courthouse makes sense, or that I shouldn’t be able to marry a dude if I get hit by lightning and burn out the heterosexuality circuits in my brain. I don’t like that you think that your god should have some input into my biology classes. But I’ll tell you this—I would fight to the death to defend your right to believe whatever crazy-ass thing you want, and there’s not many things in this world that I think are worth dying over. The First Amendment is the United States of America. It’s why your grandfather died on Omaha Beach, and why your uncle came back from Vietnam as your crazy uncle. The First Amendment is the “free” in “The Land of the Free.”

I never liked George W. Bush (how’s that for an understatement?) but he said something once that was pretty insightful (especially for him). Somebody asked him why the Muslim extremists didn’t like us, and he replied something along the lines of “They hate us for our freedom.” And he was right. They don’t hate us for our freedom to choose from eight flavors of Mountain Dew, or our freedom to help select the next American Idol. They hate us because we don’t have to worship their god if we think their god is silly. If the people who died on 9-11 are heroes, here is why—they died because of the First Amendment.

We should be reveling in the fact that people can build goofy religious buildings wherever they like. We’re the United Fucking States of America, and we’re not afraid of your religion. If you like, you can ignore what the First Amendment means, but if you do, you’re no American. Yeah, a mosque down by the big hole in the ground might hurt some people’s feelings, but if you want to suspend the First Amendment for that, you’re no better than somebody who thinks it’s okay to kill people because they dared to make a cartoon of Mohammed (remember how we made fun of those people?). And if you’re a person that would demagogue this—somebody who would undermine the First Amendment to score political points, or to attack the President because you don’t like him—I’m talking about Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich, and I’m talking about you—than you’re no patriot. You’re a treasonous rat bastard who isn’t worth the spilled blood of the American soldiers and the other martyrs of our freedoms.

The Genius Speaks

2010-07-01T12:46:00.002-06:00

Time for Tony to Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

On The Beach

2010-05-26T15:26:00.003-06:00

The last night of the trip, we spent a couple of hours on the beach at Pensacola. The beachfront was decimated in 2007 by Hurricane Ivan, and almost every human-built structure was completely destroyed. NOAA records indicate that the storm surge was 12.5 feet on Pensacola Beach, but the locals claim that it was much higher at times. However, the entire beach area has been completely rebuilt, and there are restaurants, stores, a pavilion for special events, and plenty of tourist attractions. This was the fourth trip I’ve made to the beach, and the third since the hurricane, and the progress of reconstruction has been exciting.

We arrived on the beach near sunset, expecting to find the regular raucous crowd of tourists and kids, but found it as empty as the year after Ivan. A sign in front of a condo rental agency explained, “There is no oil on our beaches except Coppertone.” Pensacola is in the crosshairs of the BP oil spill, and even though there is no oil on the beach yet, hundreds of vacationers have cancelled their trips. Radio stations throughout the Gulf Coast exhort their listeners to spread the word that the beaches are still clean and beautiful, but apparently to little effect. The cheap hotels (the type frequented by college students on field trips) are full around Mobile and Pensacola, but not with the usual contingent of families and college kids. Instead, there are people funneling in to deal with the oil.

I walked out onto the fishing pier with a couple of students to watch the Least Terns hunting in the shallow waters there. The birds are tiny compared to other terns and gulls. They sail over the waves, using their excellent vision to find little fishes near the surface, then fold their wings and dive into the water, much like a pelican. They crash-land into the sea and emerge about one time in ten with a silver prize. The successful terns take off for the shore with their fish, cackling a victory cry past the morsel in their bill, while those who haven’t been as lucky immediately bounce twenty or thirty feet into the air to try again. The crashing and bouncing happen quickly and make the terns appear mounted on strings. The number of Least Terns at Pensacola was the greatest I’ve seen there, but the birds are one of the success stories of the Endangered Species Act, and the populations are starting to flourish all along the Gulf. Wildlife managers identified important nesting areas for the birds—almost always on pristine stretches of beach—and posted fences and signs warning beach users to stay clear. Amazingly, this worked. People in the Gulf care about wildlife, or at least about the tourist dollars that the wildlife brings in, and do what they need to do to protect it.

The next morning in the hotel room, I watched an interview on one of the morning news shows. The subject of the interview was a fishing charter captain who was also the father of two other fishing boat captains. He choked back tears as he described his conversations with his sons—what would they do for customers this year? What would they do for a living? The waitress at the fish house the night before had chuckled nervously when she told one of the students that the dressing on his salad would be made of the “good kind of oil.” We noticed several times this graffito: “FUBP.” Sometimes it wasn’t written on a BP store or billboard. For the most part, though, the people in Pensacola were like those we had encountered throughout Florida—cheerful and positive, and very, very nervous.

Many years ago, I read the Nevil Shute novel On the Beach. The plot was that a nuclear war had destroyed all life in the Northern Hemisphere, and that weather currents were slowly moving the fallout south to Australia. The people in Australia were waiting for the end with a fantastic feeling of foreboding and resignation—knowing that the end was coming and that there was nothing to be done about it.

That’s what it feels like in Pensacola.

I Have Always Loved Arkansas

2010-04-18T13:52:00.001-06:00

But in the last few days, it has gotten better and better. Now if we could just get rid of some of our embarrassing congressmen and senators. One (or two) things at a time, I guess.

Cops Can Do Whatever They Want!

2010-04-02T08:28:00.005-06:00

Thank God, the courts have decided that it's okay to use excessive force against pregnant women who may be exceeding the speed limit. I'm sure that tasering pregnant women won't be hazardous to the fetus, and it'll keep those poor widdle coppers from being overwhelmed by those big, mean pregos!
(h/t Pharyngula.)

A Little White-nosed Lie

2010-03-28T17:27:00.008-06:00

Leslie Newell Peacock of the Arkansas Times does a nice job here explaining the decision of federal and state agencies to close caves under their jurisdiction. The caves contain bats that may be susceptible to white-nose syndrome, a fungus that kills bats. The fungus is thought to have been introduced from Europe or Africa by human visitors. Note at the end of the article a quote from the owner of a commercial tourist cave who is "skeptical" that the fungus is killing bats. Does that sound familiar? If you don't like the science, just declare yourself a skeptic! White-nose syndrome, anthropogenic global warming, evolution--all junk science, invented by those pesky scientists to make life difficult!

The Party of No

2010-03-24T08:10:00.002-06:00

(h/t Arkansas Blog).

Pass the Ammunition!

2010-02-12T20:27:00.003-06:00

Today's shooting at the University of Alabama-Huntsville is a horrible event, but not so horrible that gun nuts shouldn't try to score political points off it:

Gina Hammond, a UAH student, told WAFF that she lobbied the University of Alabama trustees to allow students with gun permits to carry their weapons on campus. She was turned down.

“I’m scared to go back to school,” Hammond said. “However, if they were to allow me to carry my permanent pistol on campus, I would not be as scared.

“... I’m sorry that nobody in that room had a permanent pistol to save at least one person’s life,” Hammond said.

That's right--the answer to the problem is more guns! Read the whole news story on msnbc.com.

Martin Luther King--Conservation Biologist

2010-01-18T09:16:00.002-06:00

"There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical, and necessary. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess."--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., May 5, 1966.

2010--An Assessment

2010-01-02T09:29:00.003-06:00

Although only one day has passed, the recent spate of year-end assessments has convinced me that it's never too early to get started on assessing the year. So, here's my assessment of 2010 so far.

1. Category One--Archaeopteryx's posting in 2010. Only one post so far. Contains some form of the word "assessment" ~~four~~ ~~five~~ six times. Clearly, this rates a negative score: -4.

2. Category Two--Archaeopteryx's meals in 2010. Breakfast, January 1--Two small banana nut bran muffins, a container of yogurt, one pear. Score: -2. Lunch, January 1--All-you-can-eat buffet at Mazzio's. Pizza crust was too thick and chewy, accidentally picked up "hamburger" pizza thinking it was sausage, none of the varieties had mushrooms, salad bar mixed greens were wilted. Score: -5. Dinner, January 1--meal at friends' house included grilled andouille sausages (yum!) but also weird, flavorless beef sausages. Mrs. Friend made unfortunately named "Pea Pie" which contained chorizo sausage, spinach, and mushrooms, as well as otherwise inedible but traditionally required black-eyed peas. It was delightful. Mrs. Arch made her always-fantastic potato casserole. Score: +8. Overall food score: +1.

3. Category Three--Archaeopteryx's football watching in 2010. Archaeopteryx's alma mater Auburn prevails in wild overtime victory over Northwestern in the Mazzio's Pizza Bowl. +5. However, in the Pea Pie Bowl, Florida, led by Jesus-Loving Crybaby Tim Tebow, stomps Cincinnati, thus vindicating the BCS selection committee and setting back by several years the fight for a college football playoff, and increasing the possibility of having to watch Tebow burst into tears every time whichever NFL team is foolish enough to draft him is walloped by the Colts. -4, with an extra -3 penalty for the convoluted structure of that last sentence. Overall football score: -2.

4. Category Four--Archaeopteryx's birdwatching in 2010. A trip to a nearby lake yielded sightings of ring-necked ducks, a pair of hooded mergansers, numerous buffleheads, and a winter-plumage common loon. Nothing but good here; Score: +5.

5. Category Five--Miscellaneous. Beautiful, but cold, weather allowed some yard work; however two hours of raking leaves caused soreness in recently broken arm. Playing with new iPod was fun, but cut into valuable internet-time-wasting. One incident of cat vomit, but this was discovered by Mrs. Arch, who then, according to house rules, had to clean it up. Score: 0.

Adding the scores together gives an overall score of....well....zero. So, on balance, 2010 has been, um, balanced. Perhaps further assesment of the year is warranted. Check back with me day after tomorrow.

Finally, a Little Taser Sanity

2009-12-29T09:47:00.009-06:00

A federal judge has imposed limits on police use of tasers. The court sided with a man who claimed that the use of a taser by a police officer constituted excessive force. The taser attack left the man with broken teeth and a taser dart embedded in his arm.

The scary part of this article is that it mentions in passing that taser attacks were responsible for nine fatalities in just the Sacramento area. In other words, tasers allow police officers to act as judge, jury, and executioner, often simply because citizens are acting a bit strangely. Tasers are sold to police departments as a method of "non-lethal" control; clearly, this is untrue. Even if police officers could be trusted to use tasers only when they're called for (and they certainly can't), tasers often have deadly effects. Better that cops use guns, since they presumably know that gunshots are possibly fatal.

h/t Arkansas Times Blog.

Ha! Ha! Hilarious!

2009-11-20T13:16:00.006-06:00

My "local" newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has one of the most awful, right-leaning editorial pages one could hope to find. It includes the folksy blatherings of Paul Greenberg, the incoherent ravings of Bradley Gitz, and a selection of unedited, apparently unscreened, often racist and homophobic letters from the Demozette's faithful readers. Despite the goofy rants always found on these pages, the worst features are almost invariably the political cartoons. One artist in particular, a person named Michael Ramirez (a selection of his crap can be found here), should probably win a Pulitzer Prize in the Category of Unsubtle Illogic and General Stupidity. However, today, the Demozette has outdone themselves. They ran a political cartoon by their own artist, Roger Harvell, that seems to be supporting the police officer who tasered a ten-year old girl. That's right. Apparently, according to Harvell and his paper, if a child is unruly, or won't do what mom wants, it's okay to call in a police officer to taser the young ruffian. Clearly, the only way an adult police officer may possibly subdue a child is with 50,000 volts of angry electrons. If you had any suspicion that the editorial staff at the Democrat-Gazette was not insane, this should lay it to rest.

More on the Murder by the Texas Government

2009-10-14T20:06:00.004-06:00

Talking Points Memo rounds up further details on the cover-up of Cameron Willingham's murder here.

Covering Up a Murder

2009-10-02T07:25:00.005-06:00

Texas governor Rick Perry has acted to cover up his role in the murder-by-the-state of an innocent man. Here, in its entirety, is an article from the September 30 edition of the New York Times:

Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman and two members of the state’s Forensic Science Commission, two days before the commission was to hear evidence that Texas executed an innocent man. The new chairman canceled the hearing, at which an arson expert was to present a report critical of the arson analysis that led to the conviction of the man, Cameron T. Willingham. Mr. Willingham, above, was executed in 2004 after being convicted of setting a 1991 fire in which his three children died. Governor Perry, who was in office at the time of the execution, has expressed confidence in Mr. Willingham’s guilt. “This is like the Saturday night massacre,” said Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, which has been working on the case. “It’s like Nixon firing Archibald Cox to avoid turning over the Watergate tapes.” But a spokesman for the governor, Chris Cutrone, said the governor’s decision was “business as usual.” “Some people’s terms expired,” Mr. Cutrone said, “and we reappointed new people.”

h/t Tartuffe at BOTF.

Pity the Poor Insurance Companies

2009-09-22T15:03:00.002-06:00

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Hat Tip to The Arkansas Daily Blog.

"Characteristic of Mystics or Psychics"

2009-08-31T18:58:00.005-06:00

Two years ago, I linked to an article about a man released from death row in Virginia after he was exonerated by DNA evidence. In that post, I mentioned the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed despite evidence that the fire he was accused of setting (and which killed his three young children) was accidental. A heart-breaking article in the New Yorker tells Willingham's story. One scientist says that the original arson investigator's methods "deny rational reasoning," and are "more characteristic of mystics or psychics." Read the article and be sickened.

Yeah, the Mets Pounded the Cards Yesterday

2009-08-06T07:39:00.002-06:00

But we've got this guy coming up through the minors. So all is well.

Oh, No! I'm Exposed!

2009-08-05T14:30:00.004-06:00

My actual birth certificate has been discovered!

(Click it, and it gets big enough to read.)

No Need to Rearrange the Deck Chairs--the Iceberg's Melting.

2009-07-25T18:55:00.002-06:00

Previous estimates of the effects of global climate change include the melting of the ice pack on Greenland as a "worst-case" scenario. Guess what? The climate models underestimate the rate at which the pack-ice is melting, and also the amount of carbon that melting permafrost will inject into the atmosphere. Greenland is losing 52 cubic miles of ice each year, and the permafrost emits three to six times as much greenhouse gas as the entire U.S. car and light truck fleet. Meanwhile, the G8 and the United States Congress fiddle while the planet burns.

Happy Courtney Love's Birthday!

2009-07-09T17:57:00.002-06:00

It's been quite a five-week stretch for your favorite transitional fossil. Trips to New Mexico, Alberta, San Francisco, a couple of looming deadlines at work, and a total lack of anything to say have kept this blog eerily quiet. At least the travel is over, and the deadlines met.

It's the Talk on a Cereal Box

2009-06-09T15:27:00.002-06:00

Thanks, Skitch!

Gay Marriage--Five Years Later

2009-05-10T10:25:00.003-06:00

With all the ruckus about Iowa, Maine, and Vermont legalizing gay marriage, it's a good idea to go back and check the results in Massachusetts, where gay marriage has been legal for five years now. MSNBC has done exactly that. Long story short: the world hasn't come to an end, society hasn't collapsed, and straight people aren't being forced to gay marry. All that's happened is that some people in committed relationships have been able to make their associations legal. In other words, the experiment has been a success. It's time for the other 45 states, and the federal government, to follow suit.

Llano Estacado

2009-05-07T08:08:00.009-06:00

I often get homesick for the grasslands of southeastern New Mexico where I conducted my dissertation research. The area was called "llano estacado" by the first Spanish explorers, because the rolling, grass-covered sand dunes were so featureless that horsemen were compelled to mark their trail with wooden stakes to keep from becoming lost. It's not spectacular mountain scenery like the Rockies or moonscape desert like southern Arizona, but it has a subtle, quiet beauty that inspires you to stop and contemplate nature and time.

The dry grasslands seem empty, but they're really crawling with animals, from big, impressive pronghorn to gleaming metallic tiger beetles. Much of the area is covered with shinnery oak, which are upside-down trees; the leaves and branches are only about a foot high, and the bulk of the tree is a massive root ball buried beneath the sands. A walk through the shinnery oak and desert bluestem grass will stir up black-tailed jackrabbits, scaled quail, sage thrashers, prairie rattlers, and, if you're lucky, the jewel of the staked plains, the lesser prairie-chicken. During mating season, these birds are easy to find. They gather in display grounds and warble their goofy calls that sound like a cross between a deranged turkey and a retarded loon. The rest of the year, they're like ghosts. They blend into the grass so well that one must nearly be a psychic to have a chance to find them. I spent several years studying these birds, and, in the spring, I grow restless, knowing that they're gathering in the frigid pre-dawn, hollering out their songs and performing their silly mating dance without me.

My friend Catnapping took pity on me, and created the drawing that accompanies this post to help ease my not-really-my-home-sickness. Unfortunately, her drawing is so good that it has the opposite effect. Catnapping has the ability to make simple drawings that capture birds and fill them with heart and humor. This picture (click on it to make it bigger) captures the prairie-chicken exactly--he's beautiful and silly, but he thinks he's a tough guy. Go here to see more of her work and read some of her great writing.

All You Need To Know About The Tea Parties

2009-04-18T14:10:00.005-06:00

Nate Silver has compiled a list of non-partisan estimates of attendance at last Wednesday's anti-tax "tea parties." Being a good Arkie who is interested in the dealings of my home state, I perused his list for the figures for cities in Arkansas. There's an interesting name at the top of the list. Here are the figures:

Baxter, Ark. 1000
Fayetteville, Ark. 700
Little Rock, Ark. 500
Fort Smith, Ark. 500
El Dorado, Ark. 300
Harrison, Ark. 300

Little Rock is the capital and largest city of the state. Fort Smith and Fayetteville are the second and third largest cities, respectively. El Dorado and Harrison are medium-sized towns (15 to 20 thousand residents). Where is Baxter? Why is it on the list? It's a tiny little community in northern Arkansas that is the home of the greatest concentration of Klan members in the state.

I'm sure it's just coincidence.

If This Isn't Torture, What Is It?

2009-04-07T19:23:00.002-06:00

I woke up, naked, strapped to a bed, in a very white room. The room measured approximately [13 feet by 13 feet]. The room had three solid walls, with the fourth wall consisting of metal bars separating it from a larger room. I am not sure how long I remained in the bed....

After some time, I think it was several days, but can't remember exactly, I was transferred to a chair where I was kept, shackled by [the] hands and feet for what I think was the next 2 to 3 weeks. During this time I developed blisters on the underside of my legs due to the constant sitting. I was only allowed to get up from the chair to go [to] the toilet, which consisted of a bucket. Water for cleaning myself was provided in a plastic bottle. I was given no solid food during the first two or three weeks, while sitting on the chair. I was only given Ensure [a nutrient supplement] and water to drink. At first the Ensure made me vomit, but this became less with time....

The cell and room were air-conditioned and were very cold. Very loud, shouting type music was constantly playing. It kept repeating about every fifteen minutes twenty-four hours a day. Sometimes the music stopped and was replaced by a loud hissing or crackling noise....The guards were American, but wore masks to conceal their faces. My interrogators did not wear masks.....

During this first two to three week period I was questioned for about one to two hours each day. American interrogators would come to the room and speak to me through the bars of the cell. During the questioning the music was switched off, but was then put back on again afterwards. I could not sleep at all for the first two to three weeks. If I started to fall asleep one of the guards would come and spray water in my face....

Two black wooden boxes were brought into the room outside my cell. One was tall, slightly higher than me and narrow. Measuring perhaps in area [3 1/2 by 2 1/2 feet by 6 1/2 feet high]. The other was shorter, perhaps only [3 1/2 feet] in height. I was taken out of my cell and one of the interrogators wrapped a towel around my neck, they then used it to swing me around and smash me repeatedly against the hard walls of the room. I was also repeatedly slapped in the face....

I was then put into the tall black box for what I think was about one and a half to two hours. The box was totally black on the inside as well as the outside. They put a cloth or cover over the outside of the box to cut out the light and restrict my air supply. It was difficult to breathe. When I was let out of the box I saw that one of the walls of the room had been covered with plywood sheeting. From now on it was against this wall that I was then smashed with the towel around my neck. I think that the plywood was put there to provide some absorption of the impact of my body. The interrogators realized that smashing me against the hard wall would probably quickly result in physical injury....

After the beating I was then placed in the small box. They placed a cloth or cover over the box to cut out all light and restrict my air supply. As it was not high enough even to sit upright, I had to crouch down. It was very difficult because of my wounds. The stress on my legs held in this position meant my wounds both in the leg and stomach became very painful. I think this occurred about 3 months after my last operation. It was always cold in the room, but when the cover was placed over the box it made it hot and sweaty inside. The wound on my leg began to open and started to bleed. I don't know how long I remained in the small box, I think I may have slept or maybe fainted.....

I was then dragged from the small box, unable to walk properly and put on what looked like a hospital bed, and strapped down very tightly with belts. A black cloth was then placed over my face and the interrogators used a mineral water bottle to pour water on the cloth so that I could not breathe. After a few minutes the cloth was removed and the bed was rotated into an upright position. The pressure of the straps on my wounds was very painful. I vomited. The bed was then again lowered to horizontal position and the same torture carried out again with the black cloth over my face and water poured on from a bottle. On this occasion my head was in a more backward, downwards position and the water was poured on for a longer time. I struggled against the straps, trying to breathe, but it was hopeless. I thought I was going to die. I lost control of my urine. Since then I still lose control of my urine when under stress....

I was then placed again in the tall box. While I was inside the box loud music was played again and somebody kept banging repeatedly on the box from the outside. I tried to sit down on the floor, but because of the small space the bucket with urine tipped over and spilt over me....

I was then taken out and again a towel was wrapped around my neck and I was smashed into the wall with the plywood covering and repeatedly slapped in the face by the same two interrogators as before. I was then made to sit on the floor with a black hood over my head until the next session of torture began. The room was always kept very cold. This went on for approximately one week. During this time the whole procedure was repeated five times. On each occasion, apart from one, I was suffocated once or twice and was put in the vertical position on the bed in between. On one occasion the suffocation was repeated three times. I vomited each time I was put in the vertical position between the suffocation. During that week I was not given any solid food. I was only given Ensure to drink. My head and beard were shaved everyday. I collapsed and lost consciousness on several occasions. Eventually the torture was stopped by the intervention of the doctor. I was told during this period that I was one of the first to receive these interrogation techniques, so no rules applied. It felt like they were experimenting and trying out techniques to be used later on other people.--source here

“This government does not torture people,”--George W. Bush, October 5, 2007.

Turning Universities Into Trade Schools

2009-03-23T09:05:00.007-06:00

Times are tough. Money is short. States all over the country are cutting the budget for higher education, and the result is often the loss of faculty, classes, and even entire departments. The University of Florida has been forced to accept a 10% cut in state funding, and part of their response is to discontinue their geology department. This is insane. Geology is one of the most basic of the natural sciences; biology, paleontology, meterology, and oceanography all depend on it. Who's at fault? P.Z. Myers has the answer:

...part of the problem is…you. Why do you keep electing cretins to your legislatures who despise the "intellectual elite", who think being smart is a sin, who are so short-sighted that they care nothing for investing in strengthening the country in ways that take ten or more years to pay off? Stop it! Your representatives should be people who value education enough to commit to at least maintaining the current meager level of funding, but instead we get chains of ignoramuses who want to demolish the universities…and simultaneously want to control them to support their favorite ideological nonsense, via "academic freedom" bills.

Read Myers' excellent rant here.

I Wouldn't Say the New Prez is Perfect...

2009-03-03T16:15:00.003-06:00

...but damn if he ain't good. Today, Obama moved to reverse Dubya's gutting of the Endangered Species Act. Obama's taken the responsibility for determining whether or not a species is in peril out of the hands of political appointees and buearucrats, and put it back where it belongs--into the hands of scientists. We have a president now who appreciates and trusts the work of scientists. It's a nice change.

Okay, Just a Bit Late, Happy Darwin Day.

2009-02-18T07:43:00.004-06:00

Last Thursday was Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday. We threw a little party for him at my university, but alas, the guest of honor didn't show up. We played Darwin trivia, listned to talks about Darwin's life and work, and then had Darwin snacks. A good time was had by all.

Here's Why I Voted for Obama

2009-02-04T18:47:00.004-06:00

It's going to take a long time to clean up the messes of the Bush Administration, but President Obama has gotten off to a good start, despite a few hiccups. Today, his Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar (a choice who made many environmentalists, including myself, a bit leery) announced that a number of last-minute Bush Administration leases to oil and gas drillers outside Utah national parks had been rescinded. Oil and gas companies don't drill on all the leases they have now. There's no reason to drill in our national parks or wildlife refuges. This move by the Obama Administration is an act of faith toward the environmentalists who worked their butts off for Obama's election. Undoubtedly, more will follow.

What a Fantastic Day.

2009-01-20T11:20:00.003-06:00

Our long national nightmare is over. Grown-ups are in charge.

Rick Warren--Ignorant, Idiotic, Insane, or Immodest?

2008-12-31T11:47:00.004-06:00

One of the most infuriating things about creationists is their willingness to discard the entire accumulation of knowledge of mankind. As Gary Trudeau famously pointed out about George W. Bush, a belief in young-earth creationism requires a rejection of “biochemistry, genetics, ecology, paleontology, anatomy, physics, astronomy, geology, cosmology, history and archaeology.” Of course, denial of evolution also requires a rejection of modern medicine, agriculture, embryology, and even psychology. The evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky stated “Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution,” and, because people are biological entities, this principle can be extended outward to the whole of human society. Evidence for evolutionary change is so pervasive, so diverse, and so absolute, that when a person claims he does not believe in evolution, he must be ignorant, idiotic, or insane.

We can add another “i-word” to describe those who reject evolutionary theory—immodest. Let us consider the case of Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church of Lake Forest, California. Warren had this to say about evolution:

I believed that evolution and the account of the Bible about creation could exist along side of each other very well. I just didn't see what the big argument was all about. I had some friends who had been studying the Bible much longer than I had who saw it differently...Eventually, I came to the conclusion, through my study of the Bible and science, that the two positions of evolution and creation just could not fit together. There are some real problems with the idea that God created through evolution... My prayer is that you will have this same experience!

The Bible's picture is that dinosaurs and man lived together on the earth, an earth that was filled with vegetation and beauty...man and dinosaurs lived at the same time...From the very beginning of creation, God gave man dominion over all that was made, even over the dinosaurs.

It’s bad enough—although not altogether unsurprising—that Warren, an evangelical Christian, would reject all things scientific in favor of a literal interpretation of Genesis. But this interpretation also rejects some of the most respected and age-old tenets of the Christian church. Saint Augustine, writing in 408 A.D. said:

It not infrequently happens that something about the earth, about the sky, about other elements of this world, about the motion and rotation or even the magnitude and distances of the stars, about definite eclipses of the sun and moon, about the passage of years and seasons, about the nature of animals, of fruits, of stones, and of other such things, may be known with the greatest certainty by reasoning or by experience, even by one who is not a Christian. It is too disgraceful and ruinous, though, and greatly to be avoided, that he [the non-Christian] should hear a Christian speaking so idiotically on these matters, and as if in accord with Christian writings, that he might say that he could scarcely keep from laughing when he saw how totally in error they are.

As P. J. Bowler makes clear in his excellent work Evolution: The History of an Idea, early Christian thinkers were not usually biblical literalists, and even many lay people understood that the scriptures were to be read as mystical, magical tales, and not as scientific textbooks. Indeed, it was not until the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation in the 17th Century that “modern” creationism was proposed (and immediately challenged by every branch of newly-emerging science), and not until the late 19th Century was Young-Earth Creationism accepted by more than just a few. Ironically, the rise of Natural Theology during the Enlightenment stripped away some of the mystical emblemism associated with plants and animals, and eventually helped lead to the formation of evolutionary ideas by those such as Lamarck and Darwin.

One might assume that a religious leader like Rick Warren would be aware of this history, since he holds a Doctor of Ministry. It seems impossible that a prestigious institution like the Fuller Theological Seminary of Pasadena, California, would bestow such a degree without a class or two on the history of Christian thought. Yet Warren rejects the collected wisdom of Western Civilization, from Augustine to Darwin, in favor of a worldview that insists that (as Lewis Black put it) The Flintstones is a documentary.

Only Another Month and a Half to Go

2008-12-09T20:45:00.004-06:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting profile of Stephen L. Johnson, the outgoing head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Although tasked with protecting the environment, Johnson felt that it was important to do so only if there was no conflict between the science and commerce. I'm sure this has nothing to do with Johnson's education in biology at a university that apparently teaches creationism. Is it fair to expect a person who apparently doesn't understand science to understand why the environment should take precedence over the economy?

Congratulations, President Obama

2008-11-04T22:34:00.002-06:00

Time to Go Vote!!!!!

2008-11-02T14:12:00.002-06:00

Frequent commenter and Friend of the Blog Steve has posted some awesome pictures of an Obama rally in northern (not the real) Virginia at this link: Obama Rally. Go give them a look, and get pumped up to go vote. Remember, in an attempt to hold down the long lines, Obama supporters vote Tuesday, and McCain supporters on Wednesday.

Brush With Literary Greatness

2008-11-02T13:58:00.003-06:00

Frequent commenter and Friend of the Blog Kevin Clark has had his first detective novel published! Numbers Up is an engaging story that mixes intrigue, romance, murder, and just the right amount of nerdy science. You can order a copy at this link: Numbers Up. Congratulations, Kevin!

Arkansas Early Voting Report

2008-10-21T16:39:00.002-06:00

Mrs. Archaeoperyx and I just returned from the county courthouse where we cast our ballots on one of those infernal touchscreen machines. We both voted against the gay-hate initiative (to make it illegal for unmarried (code for "gay") couples to act as foster parents). We cancelled each other out on a state lottery (she's for it, and I'm agin' it). We registered our Green-Party-protest votes against our Democratic Senator (a DINO and professed creationist who loves him some Joe Lieberman) and our Democratic Representative (he wants to drill ANWR). Not another single candidate on our ballots with an opponent, so screw 'em. As my mom used to say, they only need one vote, and they won't get it from me.

Oh, yeah, there was that other race. As we walked up to the courthouse a family of black people came out--a mom and three kids. The oldest daughter was wearing a cheerleader outfit, but she might have been old enough to cast her first ballot. If so, she had never voted in a presidential election where a black man wasn't favored to win. Inside, there were two voting machines. At one of the machines was a black man in his late fifties or early sixties. At the other was one of my colleagues. I knew how both men were voting--same way as me. I joked with the poll workers, "How much does it cost to vote again?"

As we finished, a white couple came in to cast their ballots. Maybe late thirties or early forties. Were they cancelling out our votes? As we walked out the door of the courthouse, we passed a black woman who might have been seventy. She smiled at me.

It's All Over But the Crying. And the Burial.

2008-10-02T09:15:00.005-06:00

Obama is up in the national polls an average of 6 percent or so. The number of people who represent themselves as undecided is about 5 percent. I think even the stupidest of us can do the math.

"Oh," you might say, "McCain and Palin may be able to get people to change their minds." Maybe.

Not likely.

McCain may be able to shift the polls back in his direction a bit. As the standard-bearer for the Republican Party, it's his duty to try to do so--for him to completely give up now would be a disaster for the down-ticket Republicans. Races that seemed uncompetitive just a month a go--Liddy Dole and Mitch McConnell for example--are suddenly toss-ups. Even such Republican strongholds as Texas and Mississippi are tightening up. Those GOP incumbents desperately need their base to turn out. But McCain has shown himself to be contemptuous and detached from the rank-and-file of the Republican Party, and he is a lackluster campaigner at best. As it continues to sink in that he has no chance to win, he may completely fold up his tent. Suddenly, the idea of a filibuster-proof Senate seems less like a pipe dream.

Several pundits (including some of Slate's writers) have predicted the death of the Republican Party. When these articles first started appearing last spring, I dismissed them. I thought what we were seeing was the normal ebb-and-flow of political fortunes. But the performance of the McCain campaign has been abysmal. Perhaps the Republican machine has been hampered to a large degree by the erratic behavior of their nominee, but surely McCain is more intelligent, more competent, more presidential than the former governor of Texas? Is there nobody left in the campaign who would explain why it's important to vet your vice-presidential pick? Nobody who might object to shutting down your convention? Nobody who might suggest that antagonizing a press corps that is inherently partial toward you is a bad idea? These are the heirs of Karl Rove and Lee Atwater?

McCain's defeat, especially if accompanied by a thrashing in the Senate and House races, will leave the Republican Party is a state of disarray unimaginable only a few years ago. Who do they have left who will lead them? Mike Huckabee? Fred Thompson? Sarah Palin?

Why Obama Won the Debate

2008-09-28T07:09:00.003-06:00

Immediately after the debate was over, I thought that Obama had probably forced a tie, and that since he was leading in the polls, and McCain's recent behavior could charitably be described as erratic, that a tie translated to a win for Obama.

Imagine my surprise Saturday morning when I read the news sites, to find that all the focus groups, and many of the pundits, had declared Obama the winner. And not even a close winner, but winner by a large margin. While I'm thrilled to hear it, it took me a while to figure out why.

And then it hit me. People are desperately hungry for change. Recent polls have shown that the current administration has an approval rating of 29%. But voters barely know Obama. The Right Wing Noise Machine has been extremely busy painting Obama as a risky, inexperienced neophyte, and, you know, a black guy, absolutely unready to serve as president. Friday night, Obama showed up in a business suit instead of a track suit, he didn't speak in rhyme, and he demonstrated a wide knowledge of every subject that he was asked about. In other words, he's a perfectly acceptable candidate for president. And he's not a Republican. He hasn't spent the last eight years voting for every important Bush program, and indeed, campaigning for Bush.

In other words, Obama won the debate because the American people desperately needed and wanted him to win the debate.

For all practical purposes, this election is over.

Barack Obama for President--of Arkansas

2008-09-22T08:28:00.002-06:00

A week ago Saturday, Mrs. Archaeopteryx and I drove up to Pine Bluff to buy a few gewgaws at Lowe's, and to have lunch at Chili's. I wore an Obama 08 t-shirt. Several people stopped me to ask where I'd gotten my shirt. Some were black, some were white. That night at dinner back in Monticello, a man came over to our table and said "I'd like to compliment that shirt." This past Saturday, the missus and I made our monthly trek up to Little Rock to hit Sam's, and Barnes and Noble, and to run a few other errands. Again I wore the t-shirt, and again, people walked up to me and commented on my shirt--it made me a celebrity. I stood in line at Sam's ahead of two old white ladies who were discussing their clearly fundamentalist Bible studies. One of them saw my shirt and said, "Where'd you get that? I've been looking for yard signs and can't find them." A middle-aged white guy walked up to me in Garden Ridge, and made me put down a double-armload of tailgating supplies (Go Weevils!) so that he could shake my hand. "We can't take another four years of the same stuff," he said.

My point--no need to write off Arkansas. Where is the state party on this? How come Governor Beebe isn't publicly supporting the nominee of the party? Maybe it's hopeless to think that Obama could win Arkansas, but it's important that he make a good showing. I understand that the national campaign has to concentrate its resources in the states where it will most likely produce results, but I give money to the state party, and I expect them to at least try to mobilize the electorate here. And, frankly, I think that a lot of people are overestimating the effects of racism in this race. Sure, there are a lot of old fuddy-duddies who wouldn't vote for a black man if he were running against Satan. There are also a lot of old white people who have enough sense to vote their interests, even if it means a brother in the White House. There is a huge amount of pent-up anger against the Republican regime, right here in Arkansas. Somebody should tap it.

Train Wreck

2008-09-02T13:27:00.004-06:00

Creationist
Husband belonged to successionist party, she attended conventions.
Troopergate, abuse of power, lying
Lousy record as mayor--nearly faced recall, left city in debt
Fired city workers who did not offer political support
For abstinence-based sex ed, teen daughter pregnant, first child born eight months after wedding
Belongs to faux-feminist anti-feminist group
Spent most of life in a church that preached voting for Kerry would send you to hell
Global-warming denier
Foreign policy experience apparently limted to knowledge of Russia's proximity to Alaska
Fund-raiser, political partner of Ted Stevens
Lied about support of "Bridge to Nowhere"
Hired one of Jack Abramoff's lobbyists
Flew from Dallas to Seattle to Anchorage, then drove for an hour to allegedly give birth to a premature Down's baby.
Mother-in-law refuses to endorse
May have lied about being Miss Congeniality in Miss Wasilla Pageant
For drilling in ANWR
Against gay rights, even though "has some gay friends"
Opposed endangered-species status for polar bears, offered bounties on wolves to increase moose populations, shows a complete lack of understanding of wildlife ecology
Wanted to ban books from city library

NOTE: This post originally said that Palin herself was member of a successionist group, which party officials and voter registration records seem to deny.

McCain to Women: You're All the Same

2008-08-29T12:57:00.005-06:00

John W. McCain has the whole world talking about his amazing, "history-making" choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate. This is a woman who was elected governor of Alaska in 2006. She has roughly 18 months of experience. She's an anti-choice conservative. In other words, as far as policy goes, there's no reason whatsoever for any woman who considers hersef a feminist to vote for her--well, except for one. She is currently in possession of a vagina.

What is "history-making" about McCain's choice? Palin is not the first woman on a major-party ticket. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Geraldine Ferraro, who was excoriated by the Republicans as an unqualified gimmick, placed on the ticket, according to them, only because she was a woman. So, can there be any doubt that placing Palin on the ticket is a cynical attempt to attract disaffected Hillary supporters to the Republican ticket? I can already see the ads: "Hey Pumas! Vote for Palin! She's got ovaries, just like you!"

Here's what McCain is telling feminists: "I've picked a woman. Now, I know Hillary has spent her entire life in public service, and led all kinds of intiatives as First Lady of the Nation, and First Lady of Arkansas, and as a United States Senator. And she went through grueling campaign after campaign as a candidate and as a candidate's wife. Well, look! Sarah Palin was runner up as Miss Alaska! And that's exactly the same thing."

See, ladies, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you've accomplished in your life. It doesn't matter about your education, or experience, or your views on abortion, or civil rights, or really your views on anything. All that matters is that you have two X chromosomes. That's all that matters to us, and that's all that should matter to you.

Oh, yeah--Sarah Palin's really cute, isn't she?

UPDATE: Palin's a creationist.

UPDATE II: And a global warming crank.

Who's The Elitist?

2008-08-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Read The Paper

2008-08-11T18:18:00.003-06:00

Dubya's trying to give a last big thank you to the oil companies that put him in office by destroying what is left of the Endangered Species Act. Why not? He's already destroyed the constitution, the military, the economy, and the reputation of the country for his cronies in the energy biz. Why let a few fish and birds (or clean air or water, or a functioning climate system) stand in the way of extracting every possible dime for Big Oil?

"It May Be His Finest Hour"

2008-07-12T08:38:00.002-06:00

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

From The Onion.

My Favorite Photo From Costa Rica

2008-07-02T13:47:00.003-06:00

The photo below shows a mother and baby two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus). It was taken at Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. Both seemed really cool about having their picture taken. Perhaps living in a national park makes them used to the biological paparazzi.

So Much For Reform

2008-06-27T20:37:00.002-06:00

Bobby Jindal, a biology major during his college days, was elected Governor of Louisiana with much fanfare as a candidate who claimed he would reform the state's corrupt, backward government. Now, even though as a biologist he presumably knows better, he has signed into law a bill that would allow creationist bullshit to be introduced into science classes in the state. How is pandering to creationist nutcases in Louisiana "reform?" Instead, he just shows himself to be another politician, willing to do or say anything to polish his credentials as a potential vice-presidential candidate. In this case, however, it only makes him more attractive to the kind of wing-nuts who wouldn't possibly vote Democratic anyway.

A Catholic's View on Evolution

2008-06-26T10:39:00.004-06:00

Frequent commenter and Friend of the Blog Kevin Clark has published an article on evolution and faith in Catholic Men's Quarterly. In the article, he gives his perspective on how Catholics can reconcile the facts of evolution and their deeply held beliefs. Summary: Evolution demonstrates the power of God. The article is thoughtful and interesting. Go read it here.

A couple of notes about the article--I went to the Catholic Men's Quarterly webpage and looked at a sample issue. I was surprised to note that, unlike Gentlemen's Quarterly, there are no glossy ads or eight-page fashion layouts. Also, the blurb at the end of Kevin's article has this most interesting tidbit: "Kevin Clark lives in Front Royal, Virginia, with his wife, Laura, and their eight children." Apparently, Kevin is a practicing Catholic, if you get my meaning.

Why It's Great to Be a Biologist

2008-06-14T21:06:00.003-06:00

I'll be in Costa Rica with a group of students for the next ten days. We'll be looking for birds, mammals, reptiles, and the best Costa Rican beer. I hope to have some spectacular pictures to put up here when I get back.

Wrong in Every Conceivable Way

2008-06-12T18:33:00.004-06:00

The city of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, has closed its animal control shelter and released the dogs held there into the St. Francis National Forest. This is apparently seen as a good thing by the director of the Humane Society of the Delta, Gloria Higginbotham, who said the animals were "better off" fending for themselves. Apparently, some of the released animals were sick, and some were dangerous, having already bitten city animal control officers.

How in the world can the Mayor of Helena-West Helena think that releasing dangerous animals into the woods is a good idea? How is this a good solution for the public, the wild animals living in the forest, or for the animals themselves? Has the mayor considered what would the legal ramifications would be if one of these animals attacks or kills a child? What about the pets and livestock of persons who live in or near the National Forest? What is going to keep the released dogs from starving to death, from contracting rabies, or from being hit by cars? How ignorant must a director of the Humane Society be to think that abandoning animals in the forest is somehow beneficial to the animals?

Feral dogs are a huge problem over the United States and the world. They attack livestock and pets, spread disease, destroy native wildlife, and attack and even kill people. Starving free-ranging dogs are known to resort to cannibalism. Feral dogs breed with wild coyotes and wolves, disrupting the genetics of wild populations.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm a firm believer in kindness to animals, but the city cannot release dogs that it knows to be dangerous into the woods. If the city is unwilling or unable to find shelter for the animals, there is only one possible solution, euthanasia, and the city has failed in its duties by avoiding it.

Gifts Once Given

2008-06-11T08:08:00.003-06:00

The Bell, a frequent commenter at Slate Magazine's Best of the Fray has a commentary on the recent California gay marriage decision. Here's an excerpt:

Much like John Adams on the subject of self-government two hundred plus years ago, I now have strong reasons to believe that no gay persons who have enjoyed the entitlement to refer to the reflections of their own souls as “my husband” or “my wife” will (easily) give it up and return to such euphemisms as “my life partner,” “my significant other,” or “my special friend” – and neither will their families and friends.

If one month of such entitlements launched the lawsuits that led to this ruling, imagine what five months’ worth will catalyze. There is no question that Californians stand about an equal chance of taking away what their state constitution currently allows. But even if the worse happens there, this only means final victory will be a little later rather than a little sooner. Perceptions are changing, attitudes are changing; those who resist will ultimately find themselves unable to mandate a cessation toward what is right anymore than they can shout back the tides.

That is just the way it is with some gifts, once given. The gift has now been given. It was long overdue.

In some ways, it's astounding that more Americans haven't been upset that a significant minority of our citizens has been denied a basic civil right. Apparently we haven't learned much from our past.

The Bell's entire commentary is available here.

It's Time to Stop Demonizing Hillary

2008-05-27T13:14:00.002-06:00

Full disclosure: I voted for Hillary in the primary, and then changed my mind after hearing Obama’s speech on race.

Hillary Clinton is a liar. She’s a racist. She’s advocating for the assassination of Obama. She’s put her own personal ambition ahead of the good of the Democratic Party and the country. We all know these things are true, because we hear about them in the media, and read about them on blogs.

Except that these things are not true. This is the same type of politics that turned Max Cleland into a traitor, John Kerry into a war criminal, and Bill Clinton into a raping murderer. Sure, Hillary’s ambitious. She wants to be President of the United States. So she’s exactly as ambitious as Barack Obama and John McCain. The other claims are reminiscent of those spread in the so-called liberal media during the Clinton Administration. When Hillary complained of a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” the press scoffed at her, but now we know the conspiracy was real.

Now these claims are being spread by Obama’s supporters. This is incredibly self-destructive. We in the Democratic Party have the opportunity to retake the White House and to build a filibuster-proof majority in both houses of Congress. For this to occur, we must have the votes of a large majority of Hillary’s supporters. Many of Hillary’s followers are fervent admirers who see her as a ground-breaking standard-bearer for women everywhere. These energized, politically active people are essential to Democratic chances in the fall, and this means that it is important to have the support of Hillary herself.

More importantly, the charges are just untrue. Hillary has made mistakes—she was wrong on the war—but she’s not evil, and characterizing her as such is just using what her husband called the “politics of personal destruction.”

So, Obama supporters, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to relax. We’re going to congratulate her on her win in the Puerto Rico Primary next week. Soon after, the superdelegates will put Obama over the top. Then we’ll salute Hillary’s service to the country, and a race well-run, and welcome her and her supporters into the most important campaign the Democratic Party has ever conducted. In the meantime, we’re going to quit claiming that Hillary is a racist, or that she’s just waiting on someone to kill Obama, or that she’d rather see McCain elected than Obama. We’re going to quit lying about the woman.

After all, we’re not Republicans.

It's About Time

2008-05-22T14:24:00.006-06:00

John W. McCain has repudiated Hagee's endorsement. It took Hagee claiming that Hitler was just doing the Lord's work to make McCain see the light. Now if McCain would just repudiate Dubya's endorsement.

A New Coat of Paint

2008-05-21T13:20:00.002-06:00

An old friend of mine from grad school has transmogrified into an artist--go figure. His paintings are really cool--they're informed by paleontology and biology. Go check them out at A New Coat of Paint.

Back From Florida

2008-05-21T08:02:00.003-06:00

I'm finally recovering from a week spent in the Florida Panhandle with the Marine Biology class from my university. I've been going along each year for the last four years to drive one of the vans and to point out the odd bird to interested students. The best bird this year (or at least the best-looking bird) was a male black-bellied plover in full breeding plumage. Late May seems a bit late for him to be in Florida--he should be in the High Arctic chasing girls. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that he made the same choice as me--enjoying the sun in Florida is more inviting than returning north and going to work.

Mother's Day is Evidence for Evolution!

2008-05-11T08:48:00.002-06:00

Read all about it at Quiblit.com.

Let's Talk About Whores

2008-05-04T12:44:00.007-06:00

Media scrutiny on Barack Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright has been intense and ongoing. Meanwhile, John W. McCain's acceptance of the endorsement of John Hagee has been nearly ignored by most of the media. What has Wright said that is worse than the things Hagee has claimed? Hagee refers to the Catholic Church as "the Great Whore," and repeats his assertion that Hurricane Katrina was God's revenge on New Orleans for its sinful lifestyle. How is that less crazy or less offensive than Wright's claim that the government is responsible for HIV? McCain refuses to repudiate this man. Are we talking about the same John McCain who once called fundamentalists "agents of intolerance?" Or is this someone who is willing to hop in bed with anyone to get what he wants--I believe the term for someone who would do such a thing is "whore."

Here's video, courtesy of Talking Points Memo.

Frank Rich gets it right (h/t Arkansas Blog).

No Intelligence Allowed

2008-04-27T21:03:00.003-06:00

Here's a video (it's about 10 minutes long) that shows just what a smart guy Ben Stein really is. Maybe this isn't the guy you should listen to in matters scientific.

Via Pharyngula.

The Question Deserves an Answer

2008-04-17T20:04:00.005-06:00

As I’m watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, there are seemingly endless commercials for Ben Stein’s creationist movie, Expelled. In the commercial, Stein is a student in a classroom where his instructor tells the students that evolution is unguided and undesigned. “How did life begin in the first place, dude?” Stein whines in his trademark monotone. This question is supposed to be terrifying to his professor--so terrifying that Stein is, you know, expelled.

It’s not like we have no idea. There are many competing hypotheses that attempt to explain the origin of life. Although scientists don’t necessarily agree on what it means to be alive, there is agreement that living organisms arose from non-living material in a long, slow process—there was no single moment when the first cell “sprang to life.” Hypotheses about the origin of life, collectively called abiogenesis, differ on which component of living cells arose first. Some postulate that some sort of cellular membrane had to arise first. Others suggest that self-replicating genetic molecules must have formed as the initial step toward life. One of the most widely cited hypotheses is the RNA-world idea, which says that short segments of RNA similar to modern ribozymes were the first components of cells to arise. Ribozymes are bits of RNA that are just large enough to self-replicate and to catalyze simple metabolic reactions. Another category of abiogenesis hypothesis proposes that simple metabolic pathways were the first step toward life. One particularly attractive hypothesis suggests that the reverse citric acid cycle was the original metabolic pathway and would have used ambient energy, perhaps from volcanic vents, to assemble the organic chemicals needed for life to begin.

The short answer to Stein’s question is that we don’t know how life began. However, this doesn’t mean that a supernatural explanation is necessary. The question of the origin of life is not scary to real scientists. The “intelligent design” idea that Stein endorses answers every question with “God did it.” From a scientific point of view, this is no answer at all.

The Nature of Faith

2008-04-09T21:22:00.003-06:00

We spend a lot of time these days arguing about the relationship between science and religion, without a lot of thinking about what those words mean. Many of us in the science biz think of "faith" as belief in something for which we have no evidence, but there are other ways to think of it. Claude Scales has a thoughtful contemplation on the nature of faith on his always excellent blog.

Worst. President. Ever.

2008-04-03T15:46:00.003-06:00

A poll of historians has concluded that Dubya is the worst president in American history. Extrapolating from the graphs included with the article, two of the respondents thought that Bush's presidency had been a success, and did not deserve to be categorized among the ten worst. Although this poll was not scientific, it does prove one thing--two percent of historians are smoking crack.

9-11 Changed Everything

2008-03-29T12:29:00.004-06:00

We're in the fifth year of an unwinnable war, the economy is in a death spiral, gas is four bucks a gallon, the ice caps are melting, and your government is...uh....making sure that you don't get killed by exploding boobs. I feel much safer.

The Horror....The Horror....Remember?

2008-03-25T12:36:00.007-06:00

Not that long ago, it was assumed (by me, among others) that John McCain had no chance of winning the 2008 presidential election because of his stand on the war in Iraq--in case you don't remember, he likes it. Now the war is all but forgotten. As P.Z. Myers says, it has become merely the "background noise of our country."

As we get closer to the election, we should remember that the war is the most important issue facing this country. Perhaps you feel that other things are more important--the economy, maybe, or the environment. But know this--each day that passes with the United States throwing millions of dollars every hour into a giant metaphorical paper shredder (a machine that also shreds lives and families) is another step closer to a time when we'll have no ability to affect the events around us. We'll be that much less able to offset global warming, or to influence the activities of other countries.

Dubya, obstinate as ever, claims that the 4,000 Americans that have died in the war so far are not "lost in vain." He's wrong. But not only have those lives, and the shattered lives of their families, and tens of thousands of Iraqi dead, and the destruction of Iraq been all for naught. The very future of the United States as a world power is on shaky ground because of this vainglorious boondoggle. Don't forget it.

UPDATE: Here. This guy says it better.

Science Just Gets Weirder

2008-03-21T13:19:00.002-06:00

I'm just not sure how to interpret this.

In Which the Blogger Admits He's Made an Error in Judgment

2008-03-20T08:22:00.004-06:00

I voted for Hillary Clinton in the Arkansas primary, and I've changed my mind. I explain in an article in Quiblit Magazine.

I Pick Mary Ann!

2008-03-11T17:55:00.003-06:00

Here's yet another reason to pick Mary Ann over Ginger. Okay, she's 69 years old now, but what a cool granny she turns out to be.

No Low Is Low Enough For Bush

2008-03-08T10:21:00.003-06:00

The (supposed) end justifies the means. As if we didn't already know, the worst president in American history today affirmed that the United States is a nation of torturers by vetoing a law that would outlaw waterboarding. Bush likes to say about terrorists that "they hate us for our freedoms," but this act makes it clear--they hate us because we're the bad guys.

Please note that this is a bill that John W. McCain voted against. Count the former POW who endured North Vietnamese torture as pro-torture.

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over.

2008-03-05T18:31:00.002-06:00

Huckabee has finally accepted the inevitable and dropped out of the presidential race. Who would have thought that a failed southern governor with a questionable ethics history and a propensity for basing his policy decisions on a quaint religious tradition would ever come this close to becoming President? Perhaps now he'll disappear from the public eye, and take Chuck Norris with him.

This is CNN

2008-02-28T11:17:00.003-06:00

I get a huge chunk of my news from the Internet, and for many years, my first stop in the morning has been CNN.com. But over the last couple of years, the website has begun straining the definition of the word "news." It's still possible to find out the latest headlines there, but the content of the site has been steadily declining. Here's a selection of their front page stories as I write this:

18-wheeler falls off ramp onto car.
Waiting? Left in the dark? Fire the doc?
Teen suspended for selling fancy sammies.
Bees attack pair as TV station tapes it.
Sleazy outcome from TV show confessions.
House full of feces, filth may be leveled.
Hapless robbers target biker meeting.

Ted Turner is spinning in his grave. Or would be. If he was dead.

See, Not Everyone in Florida is Nuts!

2008-02-19T13:22:00.003-06:00

Florida decided today to use the word "evolution" in their state school standards. No word yet on what they're going to do about "physics" or "trigonometry." As a sop to creationists, the words "scientific theory" will be placed in front of the word "evolution" wherever it appears in the standards. This will only placate those creationists who don't understand what the word "theory" means. Which, apparently, is all of them.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Says "F@#k Due Process"

2008-02-18T07:46:00.005-06:00

Since I've moved to Monticello, I've had the joy of dealing with a newspaper delivery man who brings a wad of wet newsprint any time there's a heavy rain. This is not always a bad thing. In today's Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the editorial writer seems to be railing against the idea of trial by jury. Persons accused of terrorism, according to this screed, do not merit due process, or a trial, or protection from cruel and unusual punishment. They should be assumed guilty, then reduced to a smudge on the pavement by a car bomb. This is better than the alternative--if captured, the editorial writer sarcastically states, they might be waterboarded.

Why couldn't it have rained today?

Everything You Need To Know About the 2008 Presidential Election

2008-02-16T12:59:00.000-06:00

h/t to Max Brantley at the Arkansas Blog.

Happy Darwin Day!

2008-02-12T13:25:00.001-06:00

I'd wanted to come up with a lengthy, brilliant post celebrating the 199th anniversary of the birth of the founding father of evolutionary biology, but time just doesn't permit me to do so. So with a hat tip to PZ Myers at Pharyngula, here's a Darwin Day greeting card for you.

John McCain is Jean Le Bon!

2008-02-09T08:15:00.000-06:00

Michael Kenney at Quiblit.com introduces us to the man who would lead us into the Hundred Years War.

Enough With the Talking Points

2008-01-30T21:34:00.000-06:00

I haven’t decided for whom I’ll cast my vote in the February 5th Arkansas Primary. My decision got harder today when John Edwards dropped out of the race. I thought he was right on the war, right on health care, and his “two Americas” idea resonated with me. I’m sorry he’s out. Now I have to choose between Hillary and Obama. Whichever is the party nominee in November will get my vote, but, for the first time in my life, it seems that I have some small say as to who that nominee will be. How will I decide? Let me tell you some ideas that won’t be entering into my decision.

Barack Obama is the new John F. Kennedy. What does this even mean? Am I supposed to think that Obama is going to bring the country together to some new era of bipartisanship? I guess all the neocons and right-wingers are going to lay down their arms on the first day of an Obama Administration. Or by “bipartisanship” does he mean the “roll-over-and-play-dead” bipartisanship of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? Kennedy had spent six years in the House and eight in the Senate before being elected President. Obama has been a Senator for three years, and has spent most of that time running for President.

The Clintons have had their time. Who started this little meme? Do you suppose it’s the same folks who elected Bush I and Dubya, and salivate at the thought of Jeb Bush running for the White House? Yeah, I can think of all kind of folks I’d rather be voting for than Hillary Clinton. I just don’t know if Barack Obama is one of them.

The Clintons are racists, cold-heartedly playing blacks against whites to get what they want. Claiming that the Clintons are racists is on a par with claiming that Max Cleland was screwing over the veterans or that John Kerry was a traitor.

It’s time to elect a black man president. I wouldn’t vote againt Obama because he’s black—that would be racist. It’s also racist to vote for him because he’s black. If I vote for Barack Obama, it’ll be because I think he’ll make a better president than Hillary.

Hillary Clinton is a cold-hearted, calculating bitch. Hillary Clinton is a politician and a United States Senator. It seems to me that it might be a good idea for a person in such a position to be able to see a move or two ahead in whatever situation she finds herself. If a man—say John McCain—acts in this manner, we call him hard-nosed and pragmatic. Conversely, if Hillary gets a bit emotional, than we’re either told it shows she’s not tough enough to be president, or that she couldn’t possibly have felt real emotion, and her faking it was a calculated move to garner support of women, who of course were all instantly taken in by such a ruse.

The Clintons have done things that are politically expedient, and this proves they are pathological liars. Most assuredly, no Republican and no other Democrat has ever done anything that was politically expedient. Politicians never do this.

Hillary has too many negatives to ever win a national election. George W. Bush is an alcoholic coke-head who, among other disasters, led the country into an unpopular, unsuccessful war, ran the economy into the ground by giving tax cuts to his cronies, ripped the Constitution to shreds, has tried to turn the United States into a theocracy, and made the nation the most hated in the world, and he won an election (sort-of) against a war hero. Don’t ever tell me anybody has too many negatives to be elected president.

Getting Hillary elected president is just a way to get Bill back into the White House. I’m not sure this would be a bad thing. However, Hillary has been a senator for eight years—Bill hasn’t been anywhere around the Senate. Dubya has been president for eight years without obvious interference from his father.

I don’t know who I’ll vote for in the primary, but I’ll decide based on the candidates’ positions on the issues. The war. Health care. Energy. Environment. Not Republican talking points.

Huckabee Suggests an End to the United States of America

2008-01-15T21:55:00.000-06:00

Republican Nutcase Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee has declared his intention to end the secular nation that originated with the ratification of the United States Constitution. According to an article on rawstory.com:

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

All that separation of church and state stuff was overrated anyway.

A Return to the Age of Reason

2008-01-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

The entire staff (ha!) here at Notes From A Transitional Fossil is pleased to note the rebirth of the Age of Reason. Blog author Thomas Paine lives in the Pacific Northwest and comments on science and politics with a progressive outlook and a twinkle in his eye. Welcome back, Thomas!

Thanks, George

2008-01-01T20:06:00.000-06:00

A couple of Fridays ago, my phone rang at nearly 9 o’clock in the evening. It was my friend Amy from Auburn, and she could barely speak. “I’ve got bad news,” she said, and then, after a sob, “George is dead.” She could say no more, and hung up. In a few minutes her husband Matt called to tell me what had happened. George and Debbie had been readying their home for their annual Christmas Trivia Party. George walked into the room where Debbie was, stopped talking in mid-sentence, and collapsed. He never regained consciousness.

George Folkerts was one of the last of a breed of biologists that we in the business call natural historians or naturalists. Field biology and ecology have become experiment oriented; George (and a few others like him) placed a much higher value on simple observation of what occurs in nature. George railed against what he called the “overmathematization” of biology, and the overemphasis on statistics and modeling that permeates the field. He believed that the best way to understand the natural world was to be outside, in nature.

George spent most of his career teaching field biology and evolution at Auburn University in Alabama. He was trained in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. Herpetologists in general tend to be the wildest of the field biologists, always eager to snatch up a poisonous snake in their bare hands or to wiggle on their bellies through cramped caves to find some rare salamander. George combined this fearless exuberance with gentleness born of a love for all living things. He was unable to limit his interests only to herps, and became an expert on insects, plants, and all manner of organisms. He and his wife became leading authorities on the ecology of pitcher plant bogs. His students sometimes called him an “omniologist,” and the legend was that he could walk (or wade, or climb) into any habitat in the southeastern corner of the country and call every organism he encountered by its scientific name. If this was an exaggeration, I never found out—I never dragged up an animal or plant that he didn’t recognize. He didn’t just know the names of the organisms, he knew how they made their living, what they ate, and what ate them.

In 1996, I was accepted to graduate school at Auburn, to study birds and mammals. When I told my undergraduate professors where I was going, they all said, “Great! You’ll get to take classes from George Folkerts!” Even those who didn’t know him personally knew him by reputation. One of my professors had been to graduate school with George. “He’s the smartest guy I ever knew,” he told me.

When I got to Auburn, I was required to take George’s class on Evolution and Systematics. George was a brilliant lecturer. He was organized, and knowledgeable, and funny. He had a deep, gravelly voice that broadcast his enthusiasm for his subject. His lectures were brimming with interesting and humorous examples of each of the concepts he was putting across, bounding from stories of a crab with markings on its carapace that resembled a human face, to sex-hungry frogs that literally mated with anything that moved, to a spider that guaranteed his mate’s faithfulness by plugging her genitalia with his own dead body. George’s classes were a joy, and nobody ever skipped a day. I made it a point to sign up for every one of his courses that I could.

One of George’s classes was called Iconoclastic Biology. This was an amazing class in which George would lecture for a while on some aspect of the intersection between evolutionary biology and human society, and then would throw the floor open for discussion. It was clear from the subjects that he chose that George was deeply interested in the human condition. He believed that people were biological entities, and as such, we could use our biology to make ourselves happy and productive, or mismanage our nature to make us unhappy and useless. The class was scheduled for evenings, and was taught in one of the largest classrooms in Funchess Hall, the old biology building. The reason for this became clear on the night of the first class—it was packed. Nearly every graduate student in the department took the class, along with dozens of undergraduates. There were also scads of pastors, teachers, and private citizens who sat in. George’s lectures would keep us on the edge of our seats, and at some point he’d pause, and with a gleam in his eye, make some patently outrageous statement and then let us have at him. “Everything that is wrong with society can be traced to television,” he’d say, or “the entire history of humanity is based on racism,” and then he’d stand back and watch the fireworks. He deftly slipped into any pause in the conversation, arguing just as effectively for one side as for the other. It was the most fun class I ever took; the next time he offered it, I sat in again.

In the first of George’s classes that I took, Evolution, I did very well. In fact, I scored in the high 90’s on the first two tests. “John,” he said, “you’re a grade grubber. You might remember making a hundred on one of my tests for a couple of weeks, but if you go out to Buffalo’s and drink with your friends instead of studying, you’ll have good times you’ll remember for the rest of your life.” Odd advice from a professor, but George believed that good times with good friends were the basis for a happy life. In his Iconoclastic Biology class, George talked about the importance of the extended family. He told us that humans evolved to depend on their relatives, and that modern industrial societies tended to separate people from their extended families. This was especially true for graduate students, so we needed to identify those other students that we liked the best, and treat them as family.

George lived what he preached. Everyone around him was part of his extended family. He organized trivia contests at local bars, and at his home, and would construct some of the most devilishly fiendish and complex questions which no one (except him) could possibly solve, but which were always fun and funny. Every trivia contest included a question about some sort of song, which all attendees were required to sing. George believed that singing makes a person happy, so he’d insist that even those like myself who can barely croak out a tune had to sing. We’d attempt to answer questions for an hour or two, and then slip into the bar to drink and tell lies.

On Tuesdays, George would play trivia on the electronic trivia games at Buffalo’s, and he’d encourage all of us to come. I can’t count the number of Tuesdays my artificial extended family (Amy, Matt, Rachel, Mark, Paul, and me) sat at the bar and tried to beat the other drunks. We’d order all-you-can-eat hot wings and giant plastic cups of cheap beer, and by the end of the “big game” we’d be surrounded by baskets of gnawed-up wings and stacks of empty cups. George would move from table to table, bumming cigarettes and telling stories. Like every other group there, we thought George belonged to us. Every so often, the trivia machine would ask a biology question, and then cries of “Where’s George?” reverberated through the bar. Although George had an encyclopedic knowledge of science and history, he almost never won the big game—there was always a question or two about popular culture, and George claimed that he hadn’t watched a movie or a TV show since the early 70’s. So George would finish second or third, and then he’d grab a couple of us and we’d go to the back room and shoot pool and drink beer for a couple of hours.

You might think all this trivia playing and beer drinking would interfere with his home life, but nothing could be further from the truth. George was a part of everyone’s extended family, but his real family was most important to him. He was crazy about his wife and kids, and especially doted on his youngest, Molly. All the graduate students loved George, and we always wanted him to come to the bar with us, but more often than not, there was some recital or dinner he needed to go to with Molly—“maybe afterwards,” he’d say, but “probably not.”

George was so brilliant that students were reluctant to ask him to be on their graduate committees, afraid of what kind of questions he might ask during preliminary exams or during a dissertation defense. My fellow students warned me away, but I asked anyway, and never regretted it. During my overlong stay at Auburn (perhaps I took George’s advice about spending time in bars too seriously), George became one of my closest friends and advisors. Whenever I’d get stuck on a problem, or reach a bad spot in writing, I’d climb the two flights of stairs up to his lab, and he’d close the door and sneak a cigarette. Then we could argue about the finer points of taxonomy or statistics or whatever happened to pop into his amazing mind. Sometimes he’d grumble about some university big-wig or another. There were only two kinds of people George didn’t like—people who were intellectually dishonest, who would make up data or take credit for the work of others, and college administrators who didn’t understand the purpose of a university.

My research included identification of bugs that had been first eaten by quail, then stored in a freezer for twenty years. When I’d find some mashed-up bug part I couldn’t identify, I’d drag it down to George, who could usually name it on sight. If he couldn’t, he’d drag out a microscope and a stack of guidebooks, and quickly figure out whose wing or chunk of exoskeleton I’d brought him. It seemed to me, and to everyone around me, that there was nothing that George didn’t know. If, however, you said such a thing to him, he’d wave his hand and say, “Awwww. Not true.” On top of everything else, George was humble. Maybe the only time I saw him a bit prideful was when he found out that a salamander (Desmognathus folkertsi) had been named after him; for a field biologist, this is the greatest honor one can receive.

After I got off the phone with Matt, I sat on the bed and cried a little. Two days later I drove to Auburn, and arrived in time for the visitation at George’s church, Trinity Lutheran. Amy and I stood in line together for over an hour to speak to Debbie for a moment—there was a crowd as if some president or foreign dignitary had died. While we stood in line, people brought us cookies and beer. A slide show on one wall displayed pictures of George having Christmas with his children, or up to his neck in swamp water, or standing in the university arboretum that he had saved from destruction almost single-handedly.

The next day was the funeral. I sat up in the balcony with Amy, Matt, and Mark. George’s pastor said a word or two—he made us sing, like George would have—and then there was sort of an open mic. People got up and said a word or two about George, and told some of the things he had taught them. One of Debbie’s sisters read a paragraph or two that Debbie had written.

I didn’t get up and talk—I don’t think I would have been able to speak coherently. George taught me so many things, and many of them didn’t have much to do with insects, or birds, or salamanders. He did so many things for me that I haven’t mentioned here—for instance, he was instrumental in helping me get my dream job. I never properly thanked him—when I tried, he just waved his hand and said “Awwww.” So…

George, you showed me the proper way to conduct a classroom—with humor, and grace, and humility. Every day I get up and teach, I copy your style, and half the time I’m stealing your lectures. If I’m half the teacher you were, then I owe you thanks. You taught me that the tiniest things in a biological community were often the most important. You told me that I could never understand an ecosystem unless I got out and lived in it. You told me to just stop and look at the animal I was studying—to think about its place in nature—to take it all in. If I’m one-fifth the scientist you were, thanks. You taught me to think about my place in the community, and to care for the people around me, and to use my brain to try to be happy. If I’m one-tenth the person you were, then thanks for that.

Thanks, George.

By Request

2007-12-30T14:39:00.000-06:00

One of the regular readers of this blog (her name rhymes with "Flipparchia") has requested cat photos. If you're opposed to cat blogging, please look below for the more familiar rants. This white guy is Howie. He's about six months old. He's very affectionate and insanely playful. He loves all the other cats. He doesn't understand the meaning of the word "fear." Or the word "no."

This handsome gray fellow is Norman. Norm is easy-going, friendly, and seldom gets into trouble. Norman, too, loves everybody, but he especially loves Mrs. Archaeopteryx. He's happiest lying in her lap, snuggling with her and nipping at her nose. Although he's huge, Norm has a oddly high-pitched voice (maybe it has to do with his "operation.")

This is Clovis. Clovis may well be the smartest cat alive. She knows how to open every closet and cabinet, including the one where the cat treats are stored. Although she has no interest in eating all the treats, she doesn't mind opening up the cabinet so the rest of the herd can have their way with them. Clovis thinks it's fun to open drawers and loudly remove all the contents, especially when people are trying to sleep in the same room. Clovis only gets along well with Norman. She tolerates Howie, and picks on Pearl.

This fuzzball is Pearl. At age seven, Pearl is Senior Cat in our household, but doesn't take the title all that seriously. She doesn't much care for the other cats, but will tolerate Norm and Howie. Like all our cats, Pearl was somebody else's throw-away. She showed up on my porch one Sunday morning while I was in graduate school, I opened the door, and she made herself at home. She didn't have white whiskers until we got the other cats.

Turns out there is a line between being contented pet owners and crazy cat people. That line is the line between three and four cats. If you have a cat, and are thinking about getting another one, that may be okay. If you have three, and have that thought, think again.

Ron Paul--Creationist Nutcase

2007-12-29T14:57:00.000-06:00

Being right on one issue--the war--doesn't make Ron Paul much more palatable as a candidate than any of the rest of the Republicans. He's in favor of dropping out of the UN, eliminating the Department of Education, ending Social Security as we know it, destroying the EPA (counting on the free-market to protect the environment), and dismantling the FDA. To top it off, Paul has outed himself as a creationist.

He says he doesn't believe that the presidency should be "decided on a scientific matter." Of course not. He's a Republican.

Huckabee Has The Mark Of The Beast

2007-12-27T12:23:00.001-06:00

This blog is not really meant to be "All Huckabee, All The Time," but this is too delicious to pass up. The Beast has named Huckabee one of the "fifty most loathsome people of 2008." Here's their complaint against Huckabee:

Charges: What's worse, a calculating politician pretending to be a devout Christian, or a genuine heartland preacher who didn't come from no monkey? Huckabee is both -- a Southern Baptist who rejects Darwin, wants to give everyone a gun and thinks people with AIDS should be quarantined, and a seedy, corrupt politician who's never seen a payoff so low he won't stoop to pick it up. Democrats see Huckabee as easily defeated in a general election, but they shouldn't be so sure -- Smooth talking preachers tend to do well in this country. Huckabee is well-spoken, kind-faced, and the opposite of wordly -- he's Obama for hicks.

Exhibit A: "I got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives... I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ."

Huckabee only managed a 47th-place finish on this list, well behind his competitors Rudy Guiliani, Mitt Romney, and Hillary Clinton. I can only assume the folks at The Beast just don't know the Huckster well enough yet. Let's hope that they don't get the opportunity to get to know him better.

A Voice-Mail From God

2007-12-10T21:54:00.000-06:00

Mad props to the Arkansas Times Blog for the link.

Huckabee the Hypocrite

2007-12-09T09:40:00.000-06:00

While lieutenant governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee was paid by a political action committee called Action America. At the time, he refused to say who the donors to Action America were, mendaciously claiming that doing so would violate federal law. Now we find that the main contributor to the fund was R. J. Reynolds. That's right--Mr. Health turns out to be a tobacco company stooge. Recent polls show Huckabee winning in Iowa; respondents say they like his "honesty." I guess that word means something different to Iowa evangelicals than it does to everyone else in the world.

Newsweek has the story (the relevant parts are on page 7). Thanks to the Arkansas Times for the heads-up.

When I Steal, I Steal From the Best

2007-12-07T17:34:00.000-06:00

toothpastefordinner.com

Hey, Look Over There!

2007-12-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

Joe Klein doesn't always get everything right, but he hits one out of the park in this week's Time. Klein writes of how immigration has become the most contentious issue of the 2008 presidential race. Some of the presidential candidates--Huckabee and Clinton--are surprised at the ferocity with which they are assailed by members of the public about "open borders as the issue that will destroy this country." Others, notably Mitt Romney, are demagoguing immigration for all it's worth.

Klein rightly points out that immigrants are not a real problem, but that the fury against them seems to be a symptom of the faltering economy (at least, it's faltering if you happen not to be rich). People like Romney and Tom Tancredo are fanning the flames of immigrant hatred, apparently forgetting the lessons of the last century, and the one before that. It's easy to blame immigrants for the loss of jobs, and loss of security, and everything else that's wrong with this country. Immigration serves to distract the public eye from a war that continues to destroy the economy, and from the administration and their masters in the giant corporations that use the war to drain the country of every last dollar that they can. "Hey, look over there!" they cry. "That Mexican hotel maid is stealing your wallet!" Meanwhile, they're literally loading pallet-loads of cash into airplanes and flying it off into oblivion.

The Company He Keeps

2007-11-28T23:11:00.000-06:00

Mike Huckabee continues to gain support in polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida, with some polls putting him in a dead heat for first place. Apparently, people are impressed by Huckabee’s quick wit and his “nice guy” façade. Several liberal and moderate commentators have proclaimed Huckabee the most acceptable candidate among the Republicans. (It should be noted—that’s not saying much.)

But just how “acceptable” is Huckabee? Perhaps we could judge Huckabee by the celebrity endorsements he has garnered. Huckabee was endorsed by professional wrestler “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Flair is known for his borderline racist, over-the-top character in the WWE, but, although he’s had brushes with the law, Flair is probably reasonably harmless. Huckabee might accept his endorsement just for the kitsch value.

Among the first to endorse the Huckster was Ted Nugent. The draft-dodging chicken hawk is a homophobic racist who threatened on stage to kill Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. This is the kind of person who thinks it’s a good idea for Huckabee to be president.

Huckabee didn’t solicit Nugent’s support, and as far as I can tell, hasn’t exactly embraced the endorsement, although he’s made no effort to distance himself from Nugent. The same can’t be said for his endorsement by Chuck Norris. Norris, best known for his martial arts movies and his horrible TV show Walker, Texas Ranger, not only has endorsed Huckabee, but was featured in Huckabee’s first TV ad. The ad was a take-off on the Chuck Norris Joke meme that has fostered dozens of websites; it ridicules Norris’ tough-guy image. What’s the harm? Norris is able to poke fun at himself, as is Huckabee. Isn’t this an indication that he (Huckabee, not Norris) would make a great president?

Norris is not just a harmless TV karate guy. He is a columnist for WorldNetDaily, the goofy wing-nut website that makes Fox News look like the New York Times. Recent articles on WorldNetDaily include a shocking expose on a mall train that takes kids to Victoria’s Secret, and a report on a sheriff fighting against the liberal war on Christmas, and ads that offer a 23-cent cure for heart disease and (for five bucks) a video that proves that Darwinism lead to the Holocaust. Norris himself is responsible for articles proclaiming America a Christian nation and that the Bible should be taught in public schools. In other words, Norris is a true right-wing nut case.

Maybe we could overlook Huckabee’s association with Norris as a fun, funny way to garner attention—maybe Huck doesn’t believe all that crazy shit on the WorldNetDaily site. But it’s more difficult to ignore Huckabee’s latest endorsement. Jerry Falwell, Jr. (son of that Jerry Falwell) said that Huckabee was his choice, and would have been his father’s choice. This endorsement from beyond the grave should be the most disturbing to rational folks. Falwell Sr. once stated, “The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country,” and "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals....AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." He also famously claimed that one of the Teletubbies was gay and that the 9/11 attacks were God’s retribution for lesbians and feminists in America. If we can believe the younger Falwell, the man who made these pronouncements thought that Huckabee would make a dandy president.

I Don't Particularly Heart Huckabee

2007-11-15T09:48:00.000-06:00

My newest anti-Huckabee rant has just been published in Quiblit, a new on-line magazine. I couldn't be more proud. I think.

Also, don't miss Max Brantley's takedown of the Huckster on Salon.

No Comment

2007-11-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

My friend Hipparchia has a new blog, War Without Comment. Horrible videos. Horrible photos. Go look. Not too much at one time.

Drowning in Self-Righteousness

2007-11-04T09:29:00.000-06:00

In perhaps the worst ever editorial in a newspaper that specializes in awful editorials, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette endorses torture, and chastises us for questioning the torturers. Then, to flesh things out, they place the editorial next to an excreable editorial cartoon that illustrates that, yeah, waterboarding may be bad, but at least it's not beheading.

So, you read it in the Demozette: Torture's great, our leaders are wonderful, and the end justifies the means.

UAMS to Southeast Arkansas: You Suck!

2007-10-30T18:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial page was fairly brimming over with indignation over the state law that requires the University of Arkansas medical school to admit at least 27 students from each of the state's congressional districts. Meredith Oakley, for example, calls it "incredible." She reports on the concerns of state legislators such as Jim Hill who asked at a Legislative Council meeting whether it was possible that a C student from one district could beat out an A student from another. He was assured by the UAMS Director of Admissions, Tom South, that "That is correct."

This is blatantly disingenuous on the part of South. Dean of the College of Medicine Debra Fiser assured a Democrat-Gazette reporter that no unqualified applicants were being admitted to the UAMS program. Oakley insinuates that the law requiring somewhat even distribution of applicants is racially based, and agreed with Hill when he said he didn't want "D-students operating on me." Of course, there's no way that D students would be placed ahead of A students from another district. The worst-case scenario is that a borderline student from one district might move ahead of a slightly more qualified student from another district.

But, you might say, even that is grossly unfair. And you might be right, if medical school admissions were determined only by MCAT scores and GPA. Of course, that isn't remotely true. Medical school applicants are subject to a completely arbitrary interview process. I was formerly on the pre-med committee at the university where I work, and met with Mr. South and his staff and pre-med advisors from other colleges. At this meeting, we were told that the interviews were conducted by instructors and other doctors at UAMS. Voluntary training for the interview procedure was available for these doctors, but many of them were unable or unwilling to undergo such training. As a result, prospective applicants were not subject to consistent questioning. Students might be rejected by an interviewer who didn't think a person of their race, or religion, or gender would make a good doctor.

If Mr. South and his fellow administrators at UAMS are so concerned that the most qualified students aren't being admitted, perhaps they should do away with this arbitrary interview scheme. But doing away with such a scheme would make it impossible to admit those lesser qualified students who might have connections--you know, a rich daddy who might be willing to make a large donation to UAMS, or a state senator with a B-student son or nephew. It turns out that students from the Delta are much less likely to have a rich relative or a state representative who's a family friend. If we're going to make everything completely level, we should make everything completely level.

There is no evidence that UAMS is producing substandard doctors, or that deserving students are being forced out of state to get their M.D. It would be very simple for Mr. South to release the test scores of those who were accepted and denied admission, and to tell which congressional district they were from, without disclosing their personal information. If there truly is a problem, and the law actually needs to be changed, this baseline information is essential. Otherwise, this whole affair smacks of a cheap power grab for the UAMS Admissions Board at the expense of the Delta.

(Cartoon stolen from toothpastefordinner.com.)

The Lord Abandons the Rockies

2007-10-29T13:05:00.000-06:00

Earlier in the playoff season, I ended a post with the sentence "Go Rockies!" It was before I had seen this article. Apparently the Rockies built their team around people who had professed their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

There's nothing wrong with attempting to sign players of good character; any business would be crazy not to want upstanding employees, simply as a way to increase profits. However, some players spoke of feeling that they were not accepted if they weren't part of a "God Squad." Former Rockies player Mark Sweeney told USA Today: "They have a great group of guys over there but I've never been in a clubhouse where Christianity is the main purpose. You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs."

General Manager Dan O'Dowd has said that the Lord has had a hand in the Rockies' improbable run to the World Series. Maybe he needs to rethink that attitude, because if he's right, it appears that the Lord has abandoned the Rockies. Perhaps He is more interested in tolerance. Or perhaps the Red Sox fans prayed harder.

(Thanks to Wordster over at Faith-Based for the heads-up.)

Go Ahead and Tase Me, Bro

2007-10-24T14:19:00.000-06:00

The University of Florida campus police were cleared for their tasering of Andrew Meyer in the famous "Don't Tase Me, Bro" case. Of course they were. Police are always justified in using excessive force on citizens. Police can do whatever they want, whenever they want. This is the age of the Patriot Act and Alberto Gonzales. Don't forget it.

The Pharyngula Mutating Genre Meme

2007-10-17T18:20:00.000-06:00

Hipparchia has tagged me for The Pharyngula mutating genre meme. I saw this on Pharyngula and tried to ignore it, but one ignores Hipparchia at one's own peril. I'd hate to be the object of one of the wonky, withering posts on her excellent blog. Crooks, liars, and insurance company executives have been known to commit seppuki after reading her take-downs. I'd certainly have no chance. So, since this post is at least partly about survival:

There are a set of questions below that are all of the form, “The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is…”. Copy the questions, and before answering them, you may modify them in a limited way, carrying out no more than two of these operations:

You can leave them exactly as is.
You can delete any one question.
You can mutate either the genre, medium, or subgenre of any one question. For instance, you could change “The best time travel novel in SF/Fantasy is…” to “The best time travel novel in Westerns is…”, or “The best time travel movie in SF/Fantasy is…”, or “The best romance novel in SF/Fantasy is…”.
You can add a completely new question of your choice to the end of the list, as long as it is still in the form “The best [subgenre] [medium] in [genre] is…”.
You must have at least one question in your set, or you’ve gone extinct, and you must be able to answer it yourself, or you’re not viable.
Then answer your possibly mutant set of questions. Please do include a link back to the blog you got them from, to simplify tracing the ancestry, and include these instructions.

Finally, pass it along to any number of your fellow bloggers. Remember, though, your success as a Darwinian replicator is going to be measured by the propagation of your variants, which is going to be a function of both the interest your well-honed questions generate and the number of successful attempts at reproducing them.

My pedigree:
My great-great-great-great-great-grandparent is Pharyngula.
My great-great-great-great-grandparent is Metamagician and the Hellfire Club.
My great-great-great-grandparent is Flying Trilobite.
My great-great-grandparent is A Blog Around the Clock.
My great-grandparent is archy.
My grandparent is Why Now?
My parent is Over the Cliff, Onto the Rocks.

My version of the questions:
The best end-of-the-world novel in SF/Fantasy is: Lucifer's Hammer by Niven and Pournelle.
The best “bad” movie in scientific dystopias is: Tank Girl.
The best sexy song in pop is: “Brass In Pocket” by the Pretenders.
The best alt-country album in country music is: Fight Songs by Old 97s.

To keep the meme alive, I'm passing it along to:
Aaron at Nobody in Particular, because he's becoming an expert on Darwin.
Sona at Sona Says, because she's always thinking about random stuff.
Saint Gasoline at Saint Gasoline, because he's evolution minded, and something of a trouble-maker, so he should enjoy this.
and Catnapping at The Odd Neighbor, because she's so freaking awesome, and should pass those awesome genes along to the next generation.