SeniorJunior

...Purely Natural Another explanation for Polarization (And another plug for epigenetics) A liberal friend said she was hard-pressed to " ... understand what the Right is so worked up about. In America, particularly right wing America, the issues are not important, the strength of the conviction is key.  They are just bat shit crazy." Thus, her measured explanation of the right’s philosophy is: “Bat shit crazy.” Purely polarized, she is. Crazy.  Batshit Crazy. I say:  Whether one or the other — a person moved by issues or one moved by their own depth of conviction — is in the formulas of their DNA and, more importantly, the formulation of their epigenomes .  As I follow the leading discoveries of epigenetics I am ever more convinced of such previous heresies as heritable environmental influences.  If your peers in your early adulthood (or your parents in your childhood) were fire-breathing happy warriors for some position or the other, you,  and your of...

 It's the Religious, Stupid One of my Conservative pals sent a questionnaire around to a bunch of us fellow old guys. Here's how I answered the 10 questions. (I'm sure you are breathless to hear.) The Abortion Questionnaire Q #1: When does life begin? Olde Scooter: Life is ongoing.  Egg and sperm are both alive.  A fertilized egg is alive.  Moot question, unless you mean that moment when “God places a soul in the zygote,” a purely religious concept, so it depends on what your belief is, and it is only that — a belief. Others have different beliefs, but yours prevail? Q #2: When are human rights (right to life and the protections of the Constitution) conferred upon a fetus? Olde Scooter: A legal question.  Depends on what the applicable laws are in the various political entities. Q #3: Who has the moral and legal right to end that life? Olde Scooter: The mother, or a doctor following either medical necessity or the mother’s decision.  Q #4: Should the 'imp...

 ...a Fierce Frown and Huge Rock Paws & Claws Good thing for you I'm locked in stone. On his back, glaring up from a sweeping bend in the Rio Chubut in the Province of Chubut in central Argentina, this guy looks quite unhappy.  Note his cat ears, his mono-nostril and his formidable claws. He was about 2500 feet tall when he fell back into the molten lava half a million years ago.  Only his glowing eyes did not petrify. OK, I have a bad case of  face pareidolia, and I can't help blogging about what I see: Monster in the PVC Tough Guy with Cigar Eye in the desert Small Head; Big Beard Holy Bird! Pix credit - Google Maps/Satellite "Chubut" pronounced chew-boot, NOT chew butt!

 The Leader of the Free World Refuses to Honor Many World Treaties Well, OK, we did sign this one. The mass murderer Putin clearly needs to be convicted of war crimes.  However, the USA "rejects" and "isn't a party to" the International Criminal Court where such a conviction would happen.  The problem is that any prosecution of U.S. crimes would “unacceptably threaten American sovereignty and U.S. national security interests.” There you go.  At least there you go until a criminal like Putin needs prosecuting . Here's a list of the international treaties we have stiff-armed: Year Treaty Depositary U.S. status 1930 Forced Labour Convention International Labour Organization signed, not ratified 1948 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention International Labour Organization not signed 1949 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 International Labour Organization not signed 1950 Convention for the Suppression...

What's to Become of Us?  An America of Cheech & Chong? Or  of Steve Jobs, Willie Nelson, Bill Gates and Carl Sagan?* -18 states have legalized recreational weed. -38 states have legalized medical cannabis.  -17 "overlap" - both recreational and medical So this is one big sociological experiment. Precendents? Perhaps when Prohibition ended, and drinking went from bootleggers back to bars and package stores, it was sort of like this. Perhaps many folks who really wanted to drink a bit were encouraged to have a few pops after years of abstinence. Perhaps that's happening now with weed.  What Prohibition lacks as an analogue is that booze didn't sneak up from 90 proof to 120 proof, unless you moved right up to Everclear, and everyone knew what that would do.  With Cannabis, the "proof" is rising, and everyone is unclear on what that will do.  There are some worrying indications: Recently, there have been concerns surrounding the increased levels of THC f...