Archive for category Politics
Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Education
This article first appeared as an editorial I wrote for the Valley News on 4 September 2005. I thought it was probably a good time, given the bills currently before the New Hampshire legislature, to post it again.
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What is science, and what is science trying to accomplish? The goal of science is to investigate what we as humans can empirically know but do not yet understand about the workings of nature. Scientists do this by constructing sets of hypotheses (based on what we have already learned) about some feature of nature that we do not understand, testing these hypotheses by making observations and performing experiments, and then updating our understanding based on which hypotheses are supported and refuted by these observations and experiments. This results in a never ending cycle of hypothesis generation, testing, and updating of our understanding.
Having been raised a Methodist and now being a member of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, I know the power of God in people’s lives. Also, my scientific training and my career as a practicing scientist show me that nothing in science denies the existence or actions of God. In fact, science can only be mute on these issues, since we cannot empirically test the existence, actions or methods of God. Read the rest of this entry »
RINOs
I’m a proud RINO. I’ve been called that a lot, and I like it and am proud to be called so. After the founders, my political heroes are people like Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower. These political leaders understood the necessity of government providing the playing field for the nation’s economy: not to run the economy, but to provide the infrastructure and rulebook to have the private economy flourish.
Read the rest of this entry »
An adult returns
Again, an adult in the room!
What is the relationship between economic performance and the highest income tax rate?
I am a scientist. The fundamental basis of science is empirically testing the assumptions, hypotheses and theories for how one thinks something works. Given the debates about taxes, economic growth and the countries’ debt and deficit over the past 10 years, I decided to do a scientific test of one major premise. Does having a lower top marginal tax rate (i.e., the tax rate on those with the highest incomes) correspond to a better economy? Read the rest of this entry »
From observingstupiditydaily: “Remember when … “
Quoting observingstupiditydaily.
“Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401Ks, took trillions in TARP money, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves billions in bonuses, and paid no taxes? Yeah, me neither.”
What one Republican wants to know about Health Care reform
What I want to know:
I want to know why begging an insurance company bureaucrat to cover some medical treatment is better than petitioning the government for a similar service. Read the rest of this entry »
Finally an adult!
Finally, a president who speaks with quiet confidence and inner strength about the United States and our ideals, and without the bullying swagger.