The gallup poll on creationism and evolution highlighted in thereisnospoon’s fine diary is not news.  Evolution has been a minority viewpoint in America for virtually my entire life, as the gallup poll itself indicates.

Having taught collegiate courses in the history of science both in Stereotypical Leftist College Town and Stereotypical Rural Bible-belt Town, I believe I can offer some useful insights into the current and historical relationship between scientific and religious belief.  My sense is that most Americans have bought in to a false dichotomy, one that sees science and religion as opposing and irreconcilable world-views. (Convieniently illustrated by this recent diary, for instance.)   This interpretation of the relationship between science and religion is grossly simplistic and historically inaccurate.  For those of us who view ourselves as "pro-science," it also frames the debate over cultural issues surrounding science and religion  in a manner that precludes any hope that we will win.  

I've concluded that writing letters of indignation and outrage to the right-wing flavor-of-the-day really doesn't do my mental health any good.  My righteous emails are almost certainly inconsequential in the grand scheme of American politics.

Which is why I've decided instead to go for the absurdist/idiotic comedy email route, instead.  I believe the republicans are on to something in their political strategy of emphasizing ridicule over constructive discourse.

And besides, funny liberal guys get far more hot and funky liberal chicks than indignant liberal guys.  Or so I'm told.

So I just sent off this letter to Ken Mehlman, asking for his thoughts about O'Reilly...

Because I am lazy, I would like to gather all groundless speculation about the upshot of Fitzgerald's investigation into one place.

Because I am not hopelessly lazy, I will attempt to make that place be this thread.

Herb Kohl, D - Wisc justified his vote in favor of Roberts with the line "I will vote my hopes today and not my fears."

Just as he hoped we'd be greeted as liberators.

Just as he hoped we'd only use our new police powers to catch terrorists.

That didn't take long.  The WaPo has an article on how the southern states are stretched thin due to  National Guard service in Iraq.

"Missing the personnel is the big thing in this particular event. We need our people," said Lt. Andy Thaggard, a spokesman for the Mississippi National Guard, which has a brigade of more than 4,000 troops in central Iraq. Louisiana also has about 3,000 Guard troops in Baghdad.

Mississippi has about 40 percent of its Guard force deployed or preparing to deploy and has called up all remaining Guard units for hurricane relief, Thaggard said.

This leads me to wonder...

I've done nothing but watch the local N.O. Live Feed over the net all day.  As long as I'm being unhealthfully compulsive in my interest and worry for New Orleans, I might as well listen to good water-related music.  Here's the playlist, I hope you'll offer contributions

An article in today's NYTstudies
the heroic efforts made by a band of idealist crusaders demanding that the Bush administration confront North Korea over its horrific record on human rights.

The same group of human-rights activists also is leading the effort to get the administration to deal with Sudan, international sex trafficing, and the deplorable state of the United States' own prison system.

The admirable group in question?  The Midland Ministerial Alliance, a group of right-wing evangelical Christians.

Reading a thread at the Talking Points Memo Cafe about Lakoff and labeling, I came across a post that suggested the use of the term "Credit Card Conservatives."

I immediately fell in love with the phrase.  It folds so much into it:  Republican economic policies, an implicit value-judgment about those policies, a reference to a fact of life for tens of millions of Americans, and great alliteration, to name just a few.

Then, yesterday on C-SPAN I listened to a speech by Sen. Clinton in which she suggested re-labeling "alternative energies" as "smart energies."  Makes sense to me.  "Alternative" suggests untested, unreliable and different (and thus bad, as many see it - think of popular attitudes towards "Alternative Lifestyles.")  "Smart" suggests scientific, sensible, with a military-security component (think Smart Weapons - we also need Smart Energy.)

So now I feel inspired to expand the project.  Are you with me?

I haven't seen this in any of the other Gonzales-related diaries, so here it goes:

What's up with Alberto Gonzales being a former parter in the law firm that represents Enron?

This, taken from The Daily Herald in Provo, Utah

http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=39490

"Gonzales also has connections to scandal-ridden energy giant Enron. He is a former partner in the Houston law firm Vinson and Elkins, which represented Enron.  ...

Reading the diaries and comments that have appeared in the last two days, I'm reminded of one of Clinton's stock lines, one that I believe Obama also uses.

To paraphrase, it is "We need to return to that time when we all felt like we were in the same struggle together.  To that time when it mattered to an Ivy League White Kid what was happening to a poor black girl in Selma."

Sadly, it seems that many of us would rather watch our fellow citizens suffer in order to make a political point: that Republican government is bad for America.

News outlets are reporting that there is a shortage of 500,000 Poll Workers for Nov 2 (out of 2 million needed.)  And with heavy turnout expected, the demand for workers could be even greater.  So here is my earnest plea for Kerry supporters to consider an alternative to GOTV work on election day:  work as an election official, instead.